MUNICH: Champions Bayern Munich bounced back from a goal down and struck four times in a powerful first half against Augsburg en route to a 5-3 victory in the Bavarian derby to go two points clear at the top after Borussia Dortmund led twice but were held 2-2 by bitter local rivals Schalke on Saturday in Bundesliga.
Bayern suffered an early shock when the visitors went in front through Mergim Berisha after two minutes.
Joao Cancelo’s 15th-minute shot cancelled out Augsburg’s lead and the Bavarians struck three more times before the break with defender Benjamin Pavard netting twice and Leroy Sane heading in their fourth goal from close range on the stroke of halftime.
Augsburg recovered after the break and pulled a goal back with Berisha’s penalty on the hour but unmarked Alphonso Davies tapped in at the far post to make it 5-2 and restore Bayern’s three-goal lead.
Augsburg capped an entertaining afternoon with a stoppage time goal from Irvin Cardona.
The Bavarians, chasing a record-extending 11th straight league crown, are now on 52 points.
In Saturday’s later match, Kenan Karaman scored Schalke’s second equaliser with 10 minutes left to frustrate visiting Dortmund’s hopes of keeping pace in the title race.
With many attacking stars missing including captain Marco Reus, it took defender Nico Schlotterbeck to put Dortmund ahead, hammering in a low drive from outside the box.
Schalke equalised five minutes into the second half through Marius Buelter, who latched onto a pinpoint cross from winger Rodrigo Zalazar.
Dortmund re-took the lead after 60 minutes, when a defence-splitting pass from Emre Can found Rafael Guerreiro who slammed home.
With 10 minutes remaining, Schalke pegged Dortmund back once more when an unmarked Karaman headed past ‘keeper Alex Meyer.
Schalke sat deep in the dying stages, frustrating Dortmund’s attempts to find a winner and held on for a draw.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig moved up to third on 45 after their 3-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach while Eintracht Frankfurt missed a chance to provisionally move into top-five after a 1-1 draw against bottom club VfB Stuttgart.
Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023
