Podcast | The Men's top flight made a strange yet much awaited comeback this weekend, with Dortmund and Bayern Munich walking away from their games with a win each.
What about the women's top flight you ask? Here's an update on when sporting action for the women in Europe is likely to return along with a roundup of all the other big stories from the world of women's sport in our podcast - Not Just A Man's World.
Match report - Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich
FULL TIME Lewandowski and Pavard scored in either side of the break to seal all three points for Bayern. The defending champions retakes a four-point lead at the top of the table.
90' Three minutes added on.
89' Bayern brings on Cusance for Muller.
FUN FACT: Bayern has now scored 50 goals in 16 league games under Hansi Flick. That's 3.1 goals per game, a record no coach in Bundesliga history can match.
89' Gikiewicz coes out of the box in a flash to beat Lewandowski to a long ball.
88' Coman is free down the right wing. He takes time to pick his cross but it is deflected out by Trimmel.
85' Final two changes for Union. Feliz Kroos and Julian Ryerson come on for Marius Bulter Grischa Promel.
81' Another change for Union. Joshua Mees replaces Ingvartsen.
81' Pavard doubles Bayern's lead! Pavard rises the highest to meet Kimmich's corner and head into the bottom corner. His last goal in the Bundesliga came in the reverse fixture. That could seal all three points for the defending champion.
79' Yet another counter-attack and Gnabry again had a chance to open his account and double Bayern's lead! He moves the ball between his feet too many times, which gave Gikiewicz to come out and block him.
76' Defence to attack in seconds from Bayern! Gnabry leads the counter, finds Coman on the right who sends in a low cross that's just past a diving Gnabry.
75' Gentner gets to a loose ball but his shot is horribly wide. It was gonig out for a throw-in befor eit was intercepted!
71' Bayern Munich also makes a substution. Kingsley Coman replaces Goretzka.
70' Double substitution for Union. Gentner and Andersson come on for Andrich and Ujah.
67' Lenz wins a corner for Union. Trimmel takes it and the inswinging ball is not difficult for Neuer to gather.
62' Bulter runs past Kimmich and his cross that is palmed away by a stretching Neuer.
60' Half an hour left and Bayern in full control of the pace of the game right now. Substitutions could start rolling in soon.
56' Goretzka's corner is headed just wide by Muller!
55' Beautiful dummy from Muller gives him time to pick his cross inside the box. He finds Lewandowski free at the far post but the header is blocked for a corner.
53' Boateng tries to intercept Trimmel’s cross but he slips and he slides the ball towards his own goal. There was no pace on it and Neuer gathers easily.
51' Schlotterbeck brings down Goretzka and picks up a yellow card. And that means he will miss Union next game - the Berlin derby vs Hertha!
49' One and two-touch football in force for Bayern and a quick passage of play see Goretzka in a good position in the box. The German's shot is low but well parried by the outstretched Gikiewicz.
47' Gnabry dances his way into the penalty area but his shot that is well blocked by Subotic.
46' Union Berlin gets the second half, and its chase, started. The seven times the home side has trailed this season, it has gone on to lose all seven. Can it reverse that trend today? We'll find out in 45 minutes.
Halftime Bayern holds on to its lead going into the break. Lewandowski scored from the spot to but the defending champion ahead. The goal aside, Berlin has done very well and had quite a few chances to take the lead. The second half should be fascinating, especially with both teams having fiv susbtitutes to shake things their way.
45' + 1' Davies makes a run down the left flank and into the box. The Canadian's lob is brought down well by Muller but his shot is blocked.
45' Four minutes add at the end of the half.
39' GOAL! BAYERN TAKES THE LEAD! Subotic brought down Goretzka and Bayern Munich wins a penalty. And Lewandowski makes no mistake from the spot, sending the keeper the wrong way to score his 26th of the campaign.
The Polish forward has now scored 40 goals in all competitions for the fifth consecutive season!
37' Davies goes into the book for a foul on Promel, who is making his first start since August.
32' Half an hour into the game and both teams have had good chances so far. Bayern doing it with slick passes while Berlin's long balls have caught Bayern's defenders unaware several times. There's a small break in play and players rehydrate while several coaches shout out instructions.
25' The camera turns to the stands and both team's substitutes are seated far away from each other, with masks on their faces. Some have gloves on too. That's an image we'll need time to get used to!
22' That chalked off goal has injected some life into the Bayern attack. Lots of quick passes and Bayern players are slipping past markers with ease. One and two-touch play, nothing more.
18' Bayern Munich almost takes the lead! Gnabry heads a corner towards Muller and the German turns it in from a few yards out. Berlin players protest that it was offside and the referee, after confirming with the video officials, says Muller was offside.
15' Davies cuts inside and finds Gnabry. He tries to sell a dummy but there are two players on him and his shot is blocked the moment it left his left foot.
12' Lenz brings down Pavard and takes the first yellow card of the game.
9' Neuer tries to pick out a winger with his trademark long pass but it is too flat and falls at the feet of Berlin players. Rusty?
7' A clever chip finds Ujah free but the striker can not get his shot on target and Neuer goes untroubled. Alaba was well beaten by the log and he doesn't look happy.
5' And Bulter replies with Berlin's first shot on target. Promel did very well on the byline by wriggling past two players. He cut back to Bulter, whose first-time shot was straight at the keeper.
3' The first shot of the game comes off Lewandowski's right foot. It is deflected out for a corner, which Union Berlin deals with ease.
KICKOFF! Bayern Munich, playing in its white kit, gets the match underway.
New normal? Both team's players are sitting around emty stands. The players starting the game are warming up with masks on their faces while some league officials cleans the match balls with sanitizers.
UPDATE: The other game of the day has finished, with Cologne and Mainz taking home a point each following a 2-2 draw.
The title holder restarts its campaign today againt Union Berlin. Here's the starting 11 for both teams:
- UNION BERLIN: Gikiewicz - Hübner, Schlotterbeck, Subotic - Trimmel, Promel, Andrich, Lenz - Ingvartsen, Bülter - Ujah
Substitutes: Polter, Parensen, Mees, Gentner, Reichel, Kroos, Nicolas, Ryerson, Andersson.
- BAYERN MUNICH: Neuer - Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies - Kimmich, Thiago - Gnabry, Müller, Coman - Lewandowski
Substitutes: Perisic, Cuisance, Coman, Hernandez, Mai, Ulreich, Zirkzee, Odriozola.
— Bayern Munich is just one point ahead of Borussia Dortmund after yesterday's results and it will be keen to make a winning start. The host, on the other hand, is enjoying a terrific first season ever in the top-flight and will want add the scalp of the defending champion.
KICKOFF TIME: 9:30 pm IST
IS THE MATCH ON TV? Yes, you can watch it on the Star Sports network.
CAN I STREAM THE GAME? Yeah. Hotstar will be streaming the game live.
MATCH STATS
- Union coach Fischer has lost all three of his competitive meetings with Bayern (the reverse fixture, plus both legs of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League play-offs whilst in charge of Zürich).
- Union top scorer Andersson has scored a league-high six of his 11 Bundesliga goals this season with his head.
- Union captain Trimmel has set up a league-leading seven goals from corners so far this term.
- Bayern is unbeaten in 15 competitive matches (11 in the Bundesliga).
- Four points is Bayern's biggest lead at the top of the Bundesliga this season.
- Gnabry has hit seven goals and four assists in his last 10 Bundesliga appearances. With 11 goals for the campaign, he is Bayern's next-best scorer after Lewandowski, who has 25.
The Bundesliga resumed after the coronavirus break on Saturday and Borussia Dortmund stormed to a commanding 4-0 win over FC Schalke in the Revierderby and we have another exciting game this evening when defending champion Bayern Munich takes on Union Berlin.
Bayern restarts its charge for an eighth straight Bundesliga title at Union Berlin amid doubts that the Bavarian giant will be able to last the distance after a two-month hiatus.
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Hansi Flick's side holds a mere one-point lead at the top of the league and will eye its 12th consecutive Bundesliga win to extend its lead.
However, it won't be a walk in the park for Bayern as Union has twice shocked the league leader this season, beating Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in August and turning out 2-0 victors over Borussia Moenchengladbach three months later. Could it be Bayern's turn today?
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