Bayern triumphs as Bundesliga restarts

Defending champion Bayern Munich returned to action with a 2-0 win at Union Berlin as the restart of German soccer continued in empty stadiums.

Players’ shouts echoed off the rows of concrete terracing around Union’s stadium as Bayern moved closer to an eighth straight league title.

As at all games in the Bundesliga this weekend, players wore masks when not on the field and substitutes sat apart from one another in the stands. Police were stationed outside stadiums to deter any gatherings.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said it was “a question of motivation, of attitude” to succeed without fans in the stadium and that the game seemed to take longer than usual.

“The minutes are always very long at a game without fans,” Neuer said.

Bayern midfielder Thomas Muller wondered if his team had “a small advantage” because Union couldn’t play in front of its normally fervent home crowd. Across eight Bundesliga games Saturday and Sunday, only one ended with a win for the home team.

Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern the lead with a penalty in the 40th minute following a mistimed challenge by Union’s Neven Subotic. It was Lewandowski’s

40th goal of the season. Union held off Bayern for most of the second half but scored a second in the 80th.

Bayern restored its four-point lead over second-place Dortmund with eight games left.

Union played without head coach Urs Fischer, who had traveled to be with his family following the death of his fatherin-law. The club said Fischer would only take charge of training again after he tests negative for the coronavirus twice.

Not everyone followed advice on “socially distanced” celebrations. Cologne and Mainz’s players marked their goals with restrained elbow bumps, but second-division Osnabruck’s players and substitutes hugged in jubilation after scoring.