Bayern stretch winning run under Heynckes
BERLIN: Champions Bayern Munich continued their winning run under new coach Jupp Heynckes with a 1-0 victory at Hamburg to join leaders Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga.
Corentin Tolisso fired in the winner in the 52nd minute after some sloppy defending from 10-man Hamburg to lift them to 20 points, level with Dortmund who let a twogoal lead slip to draw 2-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Bayern, who twice hit the post, found it hard going against a spirited Hamburg side but once Gideon Jung was sent off with a straight red card in the 38th minute, the visitors gradually found more space.
Tolisso snatched the winner seven minutes after the restart as Heynckes, who took charge earlier this month after Carlo Ancelotti was sacked, made it three wins in three games in all competitions since taking over.
“You could see Hamburg were very motivated and were fighting hard,” Heynckes told reporters.
“We struggled from the start and we did not keep the tempo up. We did it a bit better after the break and had a lot of chances but those must go in.
“At 2-0 the game is finished. Instead we had to be nervous until the end.”
Dortmund squandered a two-goal lead and have now failed to win any of their last three matches in all competitions.
Midfielder Nuri Sahin took over as centre forward to slot the ball for the lead in the 19th minute.
Bundesliga top scorer PierreEmerick Aubameyang should have added another in the 51st minute but his shot from 10m flew over the bar.
The 23-year-old Maximilian Philipp made amends a little later, underlining his status as one of the rising stars in German football with his fifth goal of the season.
Leipzig moved up to 19 points in third place, after edging past Stuttgart 1-0.
Bayer Leverkusen fell a goal behind but then scored five times with five different players in the second half to crush Borussia Moenchengladbach 5-1 and climb to ninth on 12 points. — Reuters