Freiburg 0-1 Bayern Munich: Matthijs de Ligt hits 25-yard rocket into top corner as Bundesliga leaders rebound from midweek cup upset by hosts to hold two points ahead of Borussia Dortmund
- De Ligt’s attack gave Bayern Munich victory and kept them at the top of the Bundesliga
- The Bavarians were beaten at home by Freiburg in the German Cup on Tuesday
- Bayern are two points clear at the top of the table with seven games remaining
An unstoppable 25-yard goal from defender Matthijs de Ligt gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory over Freiburg on Saturday to keep them two points clear at the top of the table with seven games left.
The Bavarians, who will be in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Manchester City next week, were beaten 2-1 at home by Freiburg in the eighth finals of the German Cup on Tuesday.
Desperate to make amends and protect their Bundesliga lead, Bayern had possession and a few good chances in the first half.
But it was Freiburg who moved closer to a goal as Ritsu Doan caught Bayern’s Alphonso Davies who was napping just before half-time but his effort hit the post.
De Ligt took matters into his own hands after the break, broke the deadlock and tapped goalkeeper Mark Flek into the top corner with his unstoppable missile.
Matthijs de Ligt’s goal gave Bayern Munich victory and kept them top of the Bundesliga
The defender blasted a screamer into the top corner from 25 yards from Jamal Musiala’s ball
The Bavarians should have scored again an hour later with Leroy Sané, but the player shot over the crossbar with only Fleks to beat.
They lead the title race on 58 points, with Borussia Dortmund in second place on 56.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Tuchel.
They were unbeaten at home for 12 games and beat us in the Pokal midweek. In the end I thought I deserved the win. We had great chances to score in both halves. I’m glad we won and kept a clean sheet. It was so important.’
Asked about their approach to Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals this week, the former Chelsea boss added: “We have to be brave. We have to believe in ourselves, be smart, have tactical solutions and push our physical efforts to the limit.
‘City has been playing in absolute top form for weeks. We have to recover and hope that everyone is fit.’