German football’s two most recent champions, this clash between Bayern and Leverkusen topped the Bundesliga billing for the weekend.
The early stages certainly didn’t live up to this fixture’s blockbuster billing, and that certainly suited Leverkusen, who had managed to stifle a Bayern side who have been notorious fast starters this term.
It didn’t take the Bavarian giants too long to finally assert their authority on proceedings, opening the scoring midway through the first half when Serge Gnabry powered in behind and finished beneath the legs of a desperate Mark Flekken.
It’s rare Bayern settle for just one goal, and Vincent Kompany’s irrepressible side were soon on the hunt for more goals, with one duly arriving just six minutes later.
There was no total football approach to this one, it was just some great old-school wing play from Konrad Laimer, who planted a perfect cross onto the head of the unmarked Nicolas Jackson, who made no mistake in finding the corner. Jackson had the ball in the net once more before the break, but this time his celebrations were cut short by the assistant’s offside flag.
There was no denying the hosts a third goal before the break, though, and despite having a huge helping hand as Loic Bade turned Raphael Guerreiro’s cross beyond his own goalkeeper, Bayern didn’t mind as they knew the result was now essentially decided.
Even with such a healthy cushion on their side, Kompany’s side didn’t relent in their pursuit of goals after the break, coming within a whisker of a fourth goal when Jackson headed agonisingly wide of the post.
Bayern flexed their muscles when looking to the bench to introduce Harry Kane in place of Jackson, which certainly wasn’t a pleasant sight for Leverkusen with his scoring record this season.
The worst fears of the visitors weren’t particularly realised after the break, as Bayern and Kane seemed to have taken their foot off the gas after half-time, as they knew the game was already won, and they had some midweek European action to look forward to.
Leverkusen certainly didn’t battle valiantly in an attempt to save face as their remarkable run came to an end, as their xG tally of 0.01 at the 80th minute would suggest.
Christian Kofane spurned their best chance of the evening when he somehow turned wide from inside the six-yard box as Kasper Hjulmand’s unbeaten start in the Bundesliga as Leverkusen boss ground to an abrupt halt.
Bayern’s second-half performance may have been slightly disappointing to those looking for more goals, but with the game won and a midweek game on the horizon, it perhaps wasn’t a great surprise.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich)