BUNDESLIGA: Hummels' Header Sinks Leverkusen
- Ayan Mitra
- Nov 27, 2016
- 2 min read
Matt Hummels scored his first goal for Bayern Munich in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at Allianz Arena. Bayern came into the match after two back to back defeats to Borussia Dortmund and FC Rostov. The victory moves Bayern to within three points of shock German league leaders RB Leipzig.
Arjen Robben goes past Jonathan Tah. Image Courtesy: Reuters
Not subdued by their mighty rivals and wary of their poor form, the visitors started off strongly. In the 2nd minute Admir Mehmedi came close to put the visitors in front. His left footed shot from the left corner of the box was tantalizingly close to the target. Hakan Calhanoglu also failed with his left footed effort in the 7th minute.
Munich had their first attempt on goal when Thomas Müller’s right footed shot went off target. In the 20th minute Douglas Costa’s delightful cross was headed towards the goal by Joshua Kimmich. The header was saved by Bernd Leno.
The defending champions kept on pushing the attacking paddle for most of the second quarter of the match. Kimmich laid off for Philipp Lahm, whose effort was warded off up into the air by Leno. Thiago Alcantara headed from the close range to score the opening goal of the match.
Just minutes after going behind Leverkusen responded with an equalizer. Hakan Calhanoglu’s left footed shot after a quick and swift exchange with Julian Brandt.
Bayern began the second half strongly, with chances kept flying in for the hosts. Leno keeping out Douglas Costa’s shot to concede a corner. Kimmich swung in a delicious corner from the right and Hummels raised high to plant a powerful header into the goal.
Roger Schmidt fielded Kevin Volland and Javier Hernandez from the bench in an immediate rejoinder. Volland almost came to equalizing in the dying minutes. Munich’s defender Javi Martinez was at the centre of two controversies. Firstly, he was alleged to have handled the ball in his own penalty area. Another penalty shout against him was waved off by the referee. He bundled into Aleksandar Dragovic in stoppage time. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also saved a late Calhanoglu free-kick to ensure the win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Comentários