BAYERN MUNICH GOALKEEPER Manuel Neuer said his team were lucky not to lose after RB Leipzig held them to a 1-1 draw to stay top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
In the second of two top-of-the-table clashes on Saturday, Leipzig survived a first-half onslaught and equalised through an Emil Forsberg penalty to frustrate the Bayern and fuel hopes of a three-horse title race in the German league this season.
“We made too many mistakes in the second half. It could easily have been a defeat,” Neuer told Sky, after making several saves in a thrilling second half.
The draw leaves Bayern in third, while Leipzig now sit a point above Borussia Dortmund, who moved up to second with a thumping 4-0 win over top four rivals Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the day.
“It is too early to call us title candidates, but it is nice to be top of the table,” Forsberg told Sky.
It took Lewandowski just three minutes to grab the opener as Bayern dominated the first half in Leipzig.
Yet despite having had three times as much possession and twice as many shots, Bayern went in at half time with the scores level after Forsberg’s penalty on the stroke of half time.
Bayern, who had themselves had a penalty retracted by VAR ten minutes earlier, were left stunned and allowed Leipzig back into the game after the break.
Both Timo Werner and Nordi Mukiele had chances for Leipzig, and both goalkeepers were forced to make flying saves.
Niklas Suele could have won it for Bayern in the dying seconds, but his bobbling header only grazed the post.
Dortmund were under pressure after a shock defeat to minnows Union Berlin in their last game, but goals from Paco Alcacer, Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro secured a much-needed three points for Lucien Favre’s side.
Alcacer, who meets his former club Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, has now scored seven goals in six games in all competitions this season.
“Paco is a fantastic player, he is enormously important for us,” said Dortmund forward Julian Brandt.
Dortmund were denied by a brilliant double save from goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky early on before Alcacer gave them the lead just before the half-hour mark.
Shaking off his marker and beating the offside trap by a whisker, the in-form Spaniard met an Achraf Hakimi cross on the volley to beat Hradecky from close range.
Leverkusen looked the more dangerous side after the break, but Dortmund were more ruthless, and Marco Reus turned in Jadon Sancho’s cross to double the lead on 50 minutes.
Sancho set up Raphael Guerreiro for Dortmund’s third seven minutes from time, before Reus added a fourth in injury time.
Been tough to get a look in with the guys he has ahead of him!
One of the most hard done by players in Irish rugby after John Cooney. Some players face clearly doesn’t fit, while others get chance after chance playing average!
@Darren Mullins: or…..there are just better players in his position. Which one of the current Lions centres who play 12 for Ireland have had “chance after chance” keeping McC out of the team?
@Darren Mullins: Dunno, got done by Scannel last time they played. Don’t think he has it for top flight, and what was Cooney doing for the previous 7 years when no one knew his name? Certainly a heap of other Ulster players with great potential in front of them.
@Ricky Wright: aki and henshaw both play 12 for club and country. They are both just better than McCloskey. He done something to piss Joe S off and with farrell as assistant whatever it was had an effect on him also.