Monchengladbach (Germany), Jan 12 (IANS) Harry Kane’s sole goal helped Bayern Munich maintain its four-point lead at the top of the table after beating Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 in the 16th round.
The German champion took control from the kick-off and put Monchengladbach on the back foot.
The Foals couldn’t get out of its own half and Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had little to do in the first 45 minutes, reports Xinhua.
However, Bayern lacked precision in front of goal and couldn’t convert its dominance into a tangible reward as Leon Goretzka shot wide on the counterattack in the 19th minute and Thomas Muller failed to beat Monchengladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas from a promising position four minutes later.
Monchengladbach showed signs of life after the restart and came close to breaking the deadlock, but Tim Kleindienst headed Rocco Reitz’s pinpoint cross over the bar from close range four minutes into the second half.
Bayern remained dangerous and Leroy Sane tested Nicolas with a long-range shot three minutes later.
The hosts finally broke the deadlock on 66 minutes when Lukas Ullrich fouled Michael Olise inside the area. Harry Kane kept his cool from the spot and slotted his 15th goal of the season into the bottom right-hand corner.
Monchengladbach couldn’t find an answer, while Bayern continued to squander its chances and had to settle for a narrow 1-0 victory that kept it four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. Monchengladbach, meanwhile, slumped to 10th place after suffering its sixth defeat of the season.
“It was good today, but it wasn’t easy for us. Even though we should have scored a few more goals, we’re happy with the 1-0 win,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
Elsewhere, third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt ended a six-match winless run with a 1-0 win over newly promoted St Paul’s thanks to Omar Marmoush. Freiburg moved back into the top six with a 3-2 win over resilient newcomers Holstein Kiel. Wolfsburg returned to winning ways after Mohammed Amoura’s goal in a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim.
Relegation-threatened Heidenheim beat Union Berlin 2-0 and Mainz beat bottom side Bochum 2-0.
–IANS
bc/
