Bayern Munich are on the brink of a seventh successive Bundesliga title after Roman Buerki’s disastrous goalkeeping error saw Borussia Dortmund throw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Werder Bremen and slip four points behind the league leaders yesterday.
“I am not going to talk about Roman. Whatever happens, he has had a fantastic season and has saved us a lot of points in the past," Lucien Favre said.
Buerki’s error and a goal from Claudio Pizarro sealed a perfect afternoon for Bayern, after club stalwarts Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben earlier returned from injury to help them to a 3-1 victory over bottom club Hanover. Dortmund, who were nine points ahead of Bayern in December, must now make up a four-point deficit in the last two games of the season. Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Dortmund after just six minutes with a brilliant solo goal, before Paco Alcacer doubled the lead with a fizzing free-kick.
With Dortmund in full control on 70 minutes, Buerki allowed Bremen back into the game when he let Kevin Moehwald’s tame shot through his legs, and former Bayern star Pizarro scored a shock equaliser moments later.
In Munich, Robben and Ribery, both of whom are set to leave Bayern at the end of the season, came off the bench to make their first appearance together in 2019. Ribery scored what may be his last ever goal at the Allianz Arena, while Robben, who had not played since November, said that his cameo appearance was not the end of his Bayern journey. “I always said I didn’t want to come back just to wave to the fans and say goodbye. There are two games left and the German Cup final, so there is more to come,” he said.
Hanover kept Bayern at bay for nearly half an hour before Robert Lewandowski headed the hosts ahead from close range and Leon Goretzka curled the second in off the post. The visitors hit back after half-time with a Jonathas penalty, the result of a highly controversial handball decision from VAR against Jerome Boateng. Ribery secured the win with a deflected shot six minutes from time
The main-talking point was Hanover's penalty, awarded with the help of a VAR review after Linton Maina's shot hit Jerome Boateng's arm and which both coaches agreed should not have been given. “It was a phantom penalty, as we have so often experienced in the last few weeks," Hanover's coach Thomas Doll told reporters.
“We should have been 4-0 up at halftime and that would have given us peace of mind," said Bayern coach Nico Kovac. “Then out of the blue, something happened which today is a penalty but should not have been, in my view."
Elsewhere, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hoffenheim both stumbled in the race for the top four, as they shared the points in a 2-2 draw. Matthias Ginter cancelled out Pavel Kaderabek’s opener, before Nadiem Amiri restored the lead with a fine volley.
Josip Drmic saved Gladbach’s Champions League hopes with a late equaliser. Wolfsburg also remain in the hunt for a top four place after goals from Felix Klaus and Marcel Tisserand saw them beat second-from-bottom Nuremberg 2-0. Both Nuremberg and Hanover were spared relegation for at least another week, however, as Hertha Berlin won 3-1 at home to Stuttgart, who remain in the relegation play-off place.
Goals from Vedad Ibisevic, Ondrej Duda and Salomon Kalou sealed the win for Hertha, despite a late consolation header from Mario Gomez.
Bundesliga results
Bayern Munich 3 (Lewandowski 27, Goretzka 40, Ribery 84) Hanover 1 (Jonathas 52-pen); Borussia Moenchengladbach 2 (Ginter 73, Drmic 84) Hoffenheim 2 (Kaderabek 33, Amiri 79); Hertha Berlin 3 (Ibisevic 40, Duda 45+1, Kalou 67) Stuttgart 1 (Gomez 71); Wolfsburg 2 (Klaus 38, Tisserand 78) Nuremberg 0; Werder Bremen 2 (Moehwald 70, Pizarro 75) Borussia Dortmund 2 (Pulisic 6, Alcacer 41)
Playing today: Schalke v Augsburg (1130), Freiburg v Fortuna Duesseldorf (1330), Bayer Leverkusen v Eintracht Frankfurt (1600)
Played Friday: Mainz 3 (Onisiwo 43, Niakhate 67, Mateta 83) RB Leipzig 3 (Klostermann 20, 32, Werner 49)
Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Weigl (left) and Werder Bremen’s Claudio Pizarro go acrobatic for the ball during the Bundesliga match yesterday. (Reuters)
