Bayern held at RB Leipzig as Bundesliga returns
>>BERLIN: A second-half equaliser from RB Leipzig defender Marcel Halstenberg helped RB Leipzig hold Bayern Munich to a 1-1 home draw on Friday in the first Bundesliga match since the winter break.
Bayern looked on course for their seventh straight Bundesliga win after striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting scored in the 37th minute, but Halstenberg levelled in the 52nd minute.
Veteran Bayern forward Thomas Mueller had a chance to win the match in injury time with a shot from point blank range, but dragged his effort just wide.
Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann lamented his side’s concession of a “totally unnecessary goal” but said a point was “worth a little bit more” to his side than to Leipzig, considering the teams’ relative positions in the table.
“Leipzig played a strong game and both teams played a little bit wildly, but at the end of the day we can live with the draw.”
Red Bull-owned Leipzig have now only managed to beat the Bavarians once in 16 competitive appearances since their promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2016-17 season.
With less than half of the season’s fixtures played, Leipzig sit six points behind Bayern in third.
Bayern will still finish the round as outright table leaders, regardless of other results, although second-placed Freiburg could cut the gap at the top to two points with a victory at Wolfsburg last night (Thai time).
RESULT
RB Leipzig 1 (Halstenberg 52) Bayern Munich 1 (Choupo-Moting 37)
FIXTURES
(kick-offs Thai time)
Today
Borussia Dortmund v Augsburg (9.30pm), Borussia Moenchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (11.30pm)