Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Kiessling, Adler Deny Bayern Three Points

Mario Gomez earned Bayern an early lead, but Stefan Kiessling equalised and Leverkusen held out for a draw, thanks to some excellent goalkeeping from Rene Adler.

Nov 22, 2009 4:28:40 PM

Bundesliga: Hoeness, Gerland, Heynckes, Bayern Munich (firo)

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Bundesliga: Hoeness, Gerland, Heynckes, Bayern Munich (firo)

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Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen - Lineups/Stats

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Bayern coach Louis van Gaal made one change to the lineup that drew 1-1 against Schalke in matchday 12: Mario Gomez replaced out-of-favour striker Luca Toni.

Jupp Heynckes retained the same outfield that last featured in a 4-0 win over Frankfurt, but Rene Adler made his return in goal following an eye injury.

The first half began very energetically, with both sides playing an aggressive, fast-paced game. It took only eight minutes for the first goal to be scored. Bastian Schweinsteiger threaded a ball through to Miroslav Klose, who touched the ball past the sliding Daniel Schwaab. Klose was fouled, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mario Gomez was first to the ball and finished slickly with the outside of his boot.

Bayern's sprightly performance would not last for long as the visitors settled in and exploited Bayern's poor defensive positioning. Five minutes after the opener, Stefan Kiessling equalised after fielding a long ball that would have made Xabi Alonso proud. Kiessling started his run ahead of Daniel van Buyten, but was held onside by Martin Demichelis. Kiessling stopped long enough to allow Van Buyten to pass him, then finished coolly past Hans-Joerg Butt.

By the time the equaliser was scored, Bayern's edge was not quite as sharp as in the early minutes. Thomas Mueller, who had arguably been the team's best player in the fall campaign, was uncharacteristically wayward in his crossing, and his passes were often misplaced.

Leverkusen, by contrast, were in much better form, and should have scored again between the 15th and 35th minutes. In the 21st minute, The visitors had a candidate for goal-of-the-year taken back for offside: Toni Kroos led a breakaway with excellent skill, passed to Kiessling, who did a one-two that ended in a clever Kroos back-heel. Kiessling was inches offside, and the goal waved off.

Shortly thereafter, Kiessling turned the underwhelming Demichelis, but Butt made an excellent save before stopping Kroos' long-distance effort with similar skill.

Towards the end of the first half, Bayern again found their stride, forcing Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler to make a number of fine stops. Stefan Reinartz and Arturo Vidal were often caught too far upfield, and it soon became apparent that the visitors sorely missed Simon Rolfes as a midfield anchor. Bayern filled in the space in front of the back four and played some nice inside-out football to force their guests to make some last-ditch defending.

Following a foul, Holger Badstuber bent in a free kick that Adler did very well to save, and on the stroke of half-time, Mueller spotted Anatoliy Tymoshchuk streaking into the box, but the Ukrainian was was denied by a world-class save.

At the start of the second half, both teams took the pitch unchanged. In the early minutes, the flow of play was much similar to that of the previous ten minutes, with Bayern winning the majority of possession and keeping their opponents on their heels. The first goalscoring opportunity was earned four minutes in, as Mueller raced up the right flanks before again crossing for Tymoshchuk, who this time blasted over the bar.

Within ten minutes, Leverkusen had recovered form, and became the more dangerous team with the ball. By this time, Bayern had resorted to the same kind of timid, back-passing football that has in recent weeks caused the Bavarians' offence to become stagnant. Having probed Leverkusen on a number of occasions, it was as though Bayern's midfield had given up. Leverkusen were content to sit back and defend, while making occasional forays forward when the fast break became available.

With 22 minutes to go, Ivica Olic made his return following a lengthy injury layoff, coming in for the ineffectual Mueller. Heynckes responded by substituting Hans Sarpei in for Schwaab.

The substitutions did very little to change the flow of play. Leverkusen continued to sit back and absorb what turned out to be very little pressure. Gomez seemed to live in an offside position, and all service into the penalty area was nothing short of dreadful.

With a quarter hour left, Alexander Baumjohann came on to provide more midfield creativity, replacing Klose, who had faded out of the game.

As the clock ticked towards full time, chances for either side became very scarce. With five minutes to play, Schweinsteiger was played in at the byline, where he crossed for Gomez. The German striker had a tough angle, and cleverly back-heeled, but Adler made a world class save, and the ball was cleared.

Seconds later, Mark van Bommel won a free kick at the edge of the penalty area, and Bayern's afternoon was summed in the resulting play. Schweinsteiger, Badstuber, and Van Buyten all stood over the ball, which was touched into play. The three then looked at one another confusedly, and the chance went begging.

Four minutes later, on the stroke of full time, the referee had seen all he could stand and put the game to rest. After today's match, Leverkusen reclaimed first place, and Bayern moved to seventh.

Clark Whitney, Goal.com

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