Here’s our match report:
That’s it for today’s blog. We’ll have more real live football on Monday evening when Werder Bremen meet Bayer Leverkusen. Thanks for your company on emails. Bye!
“Achtung Dortmund” is the subject of Peter Oh’s email. “Like David Bowie, Lou Reed, U2, and others (though not the Ramones, as far as I know), Bayern are finding Berlin to be an inspirational place to get a good result.”
Menswe@r recorded their debut album at the Hansa Studios as well.
Full time: Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich
Peep peep! Elbowbumps all round for Bayern, who return to action with a comfortable win, achieved in second gear. Robert Lewandowski scored a first-half penalty, his 40th goal in 34 games this season, and Benjamin Pavard’s precise header finished the job with 10 minutes remaining.
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90 min A late chance for Union. Lenz slips a good through pass towards Mees in the area. The ball is taken off him by Kroos, who rakes a left-footed shot that is beaten away at the near post by Neuer.
89 min Mickael Cuisance replaces Thomas Muller for Bayern.
88 min Gikiewicz charges from his area to beat Lewandowski to a long ball.
85 min More substitutions: Perisic for Gnabry (Bayern), plus Kroos and Ryerson for Promel and Bulter.
84 min This win puts Bayern four points clear of Borussia Dortmund and six ahead of Gladbach. It looks ominous, let’s be honest. Their next game is Eintracht Frankfurt at home on Saturday. Union’s next game is a beauty: Hertha Berlin away on Friday. I bloody love the Bundesliga, me.
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82 min Schlotterbeck is down after wearing the stiff left arm of Thomas Muller. It wasn’t intentional, and he’s fine to resume.
81 min Another Union change: Joshua Mees replaces Ingvartsen.
GOAL! Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich (Pavard 80)
That’ll do. Kimmich’s dipping corner from the right is met by Pavard, who gets above Hubner and plants a header into the bottom corner. Good goal.
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80 min The quality of Davies’s decision-making in the final third, especially for a teenager, is quite something. He plays with his head up all the time.
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79 min: Good save! After another superb Bayern counter-attack, this time involving Davies on the left, Gnabry’s close-range shot is blocked by the outrushing keeper Gikiewicz.
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78 min Gentner plays an unwitting one-two with Thiago before thrashing a half-volley well wide from the edge of the box. It was enterprising play, though. He tried to feed a ball into the area, Thiago blocked it, and Gentner was first to the loose ball before shooting wide.
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77 min Coman misses a great chance! Gnabry led a counter-attack with a thrilling run at a backpedalling defence. Then he played in Coman, who screwed his cross-shot well wide of the far post.
76 min For all Bayern’s dominance, it’s still only 1-0. Bayern will be filthy if they don’t win this.
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75 min The substitute Gentner runs onto a loose ball 20 yards from goal but slices his shot horribly. It would have gone out for a throw-in had it not been intercepted.
74 min Coman wins a corner for Bayern. Nowt comes of it.
72 min Another dangerous low cross from the impressive Davies just evades the lunging Muller at the near post.
71 min Bayern also make a change, with Kingsley Coman replacing Goretzka.
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71 min A double change for Union: Christian Gentner and the top scorer Sebastian Andersson replace Ujah and Andrich.
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70 min Muller, who has had an excellent game, pulls into space on the right before whacking a good cross that goes right across the face of goal.
68 min Trimmel’s inswinging corner is patted down by Neuer and grabbed at the second attempt.
67 min Lenz wins a corner for Union, a chance for a breather and maybe even an equaliser.
65 min Still no substitutions, which is slightly surprising. Union Berlin are holding on grimly to their one-goal deficit.
63 min At the other end, Gnabry’s shot is blocked by Hubner.
62 min Bulter runs Kimmich and floats a good cross that is flapped away from trouble by the stretching Neuer.
61 min Nothing has happened in the last few minutes. Bayern are in control, as much as you can be at 1-0.
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56 min At the other end a clearance comes to Trippel, 20 yards from goal, and he drags a snap volley a few yards wide of the far post.
56 min Goretzka’s fast, inswinging corner hits Pavard in the face and bounces just wide of the near post. Pavard was wrestling with Hubner, which is why he was unable to meet the cross with an orthodox header.
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55 min Lovely play from Muller. He scarpers down the right, chops back on his left foot and flights a cross to Lewandowski beyond the far post. He heads it back across goal and Andrich (I think) heads it behind for a corner.
53 min Boateng, trying to intercept Trimmel’s cross, unwittingly slides it towards his own goal. Happily for him it’s straight at Neuer, who has plenty of time to pick the ball up.
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52 min “Rob,” says Kevin Porter. “Any chance that coronavirus could be used as an excuse to ban the needless, disgusting and insanitary act of spitting from the game?”
I can see both sides!
51 min Schlotterbeck is booked for a foul on Goretzka.
49 min I’m not sure this will stay at 1-0 for long. Goretzka plays a slick one-two with Pavard and rifles a low shot that deflects just wide of the far post.
48 min Union left their top scorer Sebastian Andersson on the bench, and I’m sure he’ll be on if this stays at 1-0. I wonder if we’ll see more imaginative use of substitutes in the next few months, with the lesser teams in particular trying to stay in games and then win them in the last 20 minutes.
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47 min Gnabry dances across the line of the penalty area, eventually hitting a shot that is excellently blocked by the stretching Subotic. I think it was him, anyway.
46 min Union begin the second half.
Half-time listening
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Half time: Union Berlin 0-1 Bayern Munich
That was a pretty comfortable 45 minutes for Bayern, who lead through Robert Lewandowski’s penalty. See you soon for more Bundesliga action!
45+4 min Pavard, teed up by Lewandowski, hits a fine shot with the outside of the boot that swerves into the side netting at the near post. I think Gikiewicz had it covered but it was a lovely strike.
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45+2 min Trimmel crosses from the right towards Ujah, who grapples for the ball with Pavard and wins a corner. Trimmel’s outswingers is half cleared to the edge of the area, where Promel shoots over the bar.
45 min Four minutes of added time. In the first of those, Muller pulls Davies’s deep cross down on his chest and hits a shot that is well blocked by Lenz.
43 min Goretzka wins a corner for Bayern. Union look in urgent need of a few Gatorade chasers.
42 min Lewandowski has now scored 40 goals in all competitions for the fifth consecutive season.
GOAL! Union Berlin 0-1 Bayern Munich (Lewandowski 40 pen)
Lewandowski dances round the ball, stops... and then slides a low shot to Gikiewicz’s left. That’s his 479th goal of the season.
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39 min: Penalty to Bayern! Subotic tries to belt the ball clear, Goretzka comes on his blind side and Subotic boots him straight up in the air. A clear penalty.
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36 min Davies is booked for a foul on Promel.
33 min Union Berlin will be happy with how the game has gone so far. They are being outplayed, there’s no escaping that, but they’ve kept Bayern at arms length for the most part. The worry for Union is that they are already starting to look like they have shot their bolt. It could be a long second half, even with unlimited subs or however many you’re allowed these days.
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31 min “Hope you’re doing well,” says Eason. “I’m holding out for a Union Berlin win! Thank God for VAR, huh?”
If this pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s surely that life is too short for moaning about silly stuff like VAR. I’m absolutely certain that I’ll maintain this attitude until the exact moment my team are first stitched up by VAR, at which point all bets are off and to hell with the epiphany.
30 min Ah, we’ve now seen a replay - with added squiggles - that confirms Bayern’s goal was correctly disallowed. Muller was slightly offside in the second phase of play, when Gnabry headed the ball across goal. The boy VAR done good.
27 min “Happy Sunday,” says James Jensen. “Sharing the surreal experience of FC Union at home v Bayern — via Radio Belo Horizonte (translated by you, the Rt Hon Rob Smyth).”
Postmodernism really has changed in the last few months.
26 min Free-kick to Union on the left wing, 25 yards from goal. It’s swung in by a man with a beard and deflects behind for a corner. That comes to nothing.
23 min Here’s Jonathan Seyghal. “YAY! FOOTBALL’S BACK! Oh yeah... VAR. Pfff. Like missing your family, then.. spending time with your family.”
22 min A Bayern goal is coming. Alaba plays a fine pass down the inside-left channel to Davies, whose dangerous low cross is pushed away desperately by the diving Gikiewicz. Lewandowski was waiting behind him to score.
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20 min Muller was definitely offside during the first phase, when Goretzka headed the ball down. But I thought he was behind Gnabry, and therefore onside, when Gnabry headed the ball past Gikiewicz. No matter: it was disallowed for one reason or another.
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NO GOAL! Union Berlin 0-0 Bayern
Kimmich’s outswinging corner was headed down by Goretzka near the penalty spot. Gnabry, who was onside, headed it past the keeper Gikiewicz from close range - but Muller couldn’t help himself from putting it over the line. He was deemed offside by VAR and so the goal is disallowed. Had Gnabry’s header gone in without a touch from Muller, it would have counted.
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GOAL? Union Berlin 0-1 Bayern (Muller 18)
This may be disallowed for offside.
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16 min “Greetings from rainy Northern California,” says Peter Oh. “I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Union Berlin or the Ramones, but the song ‘I Just Want to Have Something to Do’ seems pretty apt for football fans these days. I’d even have chicken vindaloo for breakfast.”
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15 min Thiago has been the brightest Bayern player so far, with a few nice passes. He plays another down the left to find Davies, who cuts the ball back to Gnabry just outside the area. His shot is blocked.
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12 min Lenz is booked for a late tackle on Pavard.
11 min Bayern look rusty, which is fair enough in the circumstances. Union have made a fast, aggressive start. Alas, Opta stats can’t tell us how much of their bolt they have already shot.
7 min: Chance for Ujah! Union have made a vibrant start and could be ahead. Hubner clips a fine pass over a sleeping Bayern defence to put Ujah through on goal. But his first touch isn’t great and his second - a hearty spank over the bar - isn’t exactly one for the books either.
5 min A half chance for Union. Promel does very well on the byline, wriggling past two players before pulling the ball back to Bulter. His first-time shot is straight at Neuer, who pats it down and grabs it at the second attempt.
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4 min “Hi Rob,” says Jonathan Seyghal. “Fingers crossed for the underdogs today (if only for the league) but with no raucous radical leftwing radical support and now no manager, I fear the worst.”
Ah yes, I forgot to say that Union’s manager Urs Fischer is not at the game today. He left quarantine to be with his family after the death of his father-in-law.
3 min Lewandowski’s long-range shot takes a deflection and loops onto the roof of the net. Gikiewicz had it covered.
1 min Peep peep! You heard: peeeeeeeeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Bayern, in their white away strip, kick off from right to left. Union are in red.
“Guten Nachmittag Rob,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Is it fair to say that we’ve officially entered football’s Lunar Age? The pluses apparently involve considerably less going to ground; the negatives include that old canard about the Irish pub that opened on the moon and closed due to lack of atmosphere.”
I’m loath to pass judgement until we see the return of the Premier League. International comparisons are difficult.
Anyone out there? It’s safe to email, you know, as long as you sing three happy birthdays immediately afterwards.
The early game has finished Cologne 2-2 Mainz. Cologne seemed to be cruising to victory when they led 2-0 after an hour, but relegation-threatened Mainz fought back really impressively and could have won the match. Pierre Kunde Malong scored their equaliser with a storming solo goal.
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Pre-match reading
Pleasantly there are fewer theatrics and arguments: on the pitch – a purer football than before. The atmosphere, on the other hand, is very, very strange.
You’ll have noticed the surprising team news, with Union preferring Grischa Promel to Christian Gentner in the centre of midfield. We’re all Bundesliga experts now.
(NB: Clip contains adult language)
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Team news
Union Berlin (3-4-2-1) Gikiewicz; Hubner, Schlotterbeck, Subotic; Trimmel, Andrich, Promel, Lenz; Ingvartsen, Bulter; Ujah.
Substitutes: Polter, Parensen, Mees, Gentner, Reichel, Kroos, Nicolas, Ryerson, Andersson.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Thiago; Goretzka, Muller, Gnabry; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Perisic, Cuisance, Coman, Hernandez, Mai, Ulreich, Zirkzee, Odriozola.
Referee Bastian Dankert.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to day two of Football Unplugged, as my colleague Paul Doyle describes this new Bundesliga experience. It’s all a bit strange, but in the next few weeks Bayern Munich hope to give the football world a glimpse of the old normal: Manuel Neuer lifting the Meisterschale. Bayern are aiming to win their eighth consecutive championship, an endeavour that resumes with today’s trip to mid-table Union Berlin.
Bayern were in storming form before spring break. They won 14 and drew one of the last 15 games in all competitions, scoring 49 goals in that time. That burst of form lifted them from seventh place – oh, the humanity – to their familiar position at the top of the table.
They’re currently a point ahead of Dortmund with today’s game in hand. The two sides will meet a week on Tuesday, all being well, in a humdinger at the Westfalenstadion. There’ll be some atmosphere for that g- oh I can’t be bothered. Yellow Wall or no, Bayern will want to go to Dortmund with at least a four-point lead. Better win today then, hadn’t they?
Kick off 5pm BST, 6pm in Berlin.
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