Friday November 29, 2024

Bayern beat Augsburg but Dortmund held

Published : 11 Mar 2023, 22:24

  By Mark Meadows, dpa
File Photo: Peter Kneffel/dpa.

Benjamin Pavard was the unlikely hero as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from behind to beat fellow Bavarians Augsburg 5-3 on Saturday - but Borussia Dortmund could only draw their own derby.

France defender Pavard scored twice at the Allianz Arena, his first Bundesliga brace, as the champions extended their lead at the top to two points after chasers Dortmund were held 2-2 at Schalke.

"Our reaction to conceding is most important. It was very good. But we shouldn't be conceding three goals," Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann told Sky. "We'll have nine matches in April so it'll be a very exciting month."

Kenan Karaman's 79th-minute header gave second-bottom Schalke a possibly crucial point in a thrilling 100th Ruhr league derby as Dortmund failed to win in the Bundesliga for the first time in 2023.

A recent attack by over 100 ultras, including Dortmund fans, on Schalke supporters left four seriously injured and raised tensions before kick-off. A photographer was hit by a flare but major trouble was avoided.

RB Leipzig went third after a 3-0 home win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, who missed a penalty at 0-0. Sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt were held 1-1 by third-bottom VfB Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin drew 1-1 with Mainz after four straight wins for the visitors.

There are three games on Sunday including fourth-placed Union Berlin's trip to Wolfsburg. On Friday, Bochum won 2-0 at Cologne to climb out of the drop zone with 10 games to go.

Bayern coach Nagelsmann made five changes from the Champions League last-16 triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, with Sadio Mané making his first start since November because of injury.

But it was the 13th-placed visitors who took the lead after three minutes, Bayern's defence failing to deal with some head tennis on the edge of the box before Mërgim Berisha's clever flick and finish.

Jamal Musiala soon went close for Bayern, seeking an 11th straight German title, and Joao Cancelo went one better by firing in off the post on 15 minutes after being left in far too much space.

The Portugal wing-back had complained that he has not played enough since joining on loan from Manchester City in January - having also fallen out with Pep Guardiola - but he gave the perfect riposte to Nagelsmann with a first Bundesliga goal.

Pavard has also made noises that he is unhappy at Bayern but hooked in Mané's overhead kick four minutes later.

Suspended against PSG, Pavard returned to the team as part of a back three rather than at right back, which may persuade him to stay.

The way he acrobatically volleyed in his second after Matthijs de Ligt's header had been blocked from a corner suggests Bayern will want him to stick around too.

Leroy Sané, left out against the French champions, nodded in from close range before the break.

Berisha's penalty in the second half merely cut the deficit and Alphonso Davies made it five from Cancelo's cross before Irvin Cardona struck in stoppage time.

In Gelsenkirchen, Mats Hummels was brought into Dortmund's backline for his greater experience. But it did not start well for the 34-year-old, his mistake letting in Rodrigo Zalazar who blasted over.

Dortmund, who missed the guile of absent attacking trio Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi, came up against a strong Ralf Fährmann but went ahead when Nico Schlotterbeck wandered forward and unleashed an unstoppable effort under little pressure on 38 minutes.

On 50 minutes though, Jude Bellingham lost the ball and Schalke quickly broke, Marius Bülter tapping in at the far post.

Parity did not last long as Raphael Guerreiro struck with aplomb, but a superb header from Karaman amid poor Dortmund defending secured Schalke a battling point and extended their unbeaten run to seven.