Lennart Karl scored in the ninth minute of added time to complete a dramatic comeback 3-2 win for Bayern Munich over Freiburg and keep his team on track for the Bundesliga title on Saturday.
Freiburg was heading for an upset win at 2-0 up in the 81st minute before Bayern’s young midfielders changed the game, 20-year-old Tom Bischof scoring twice with low shots from distance and 18-year-old Karl slotting in a low cross from Alphonso Davies to turn the game on its head.
Harry Kane was out with an ankle issue ahead of next week’s Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid and Nicolas Jackson was suspended so Serge Gnabry was tasked with leading the Bayern attack but made little headway.
Bayern’s defense was at fault for Freiburg’s opening goal, giving Johan Manzambi plenty of space to cut in from the left flank and line up a powerful shot past Manuel Neuer.
Back in the team after injury, Neuer made strong saves in the first half but blundered for Freiburg’s second, leaping out of his goal to palm a corner straight to Freiburg striker Lucas Höler for an easy second.
Michael Olise missed a huge chance for Bayern but it was Bischof who made the breakthrough, scoring once from outside the area in the 81st, then again in added time as Freiburg was caught out by Bayern’s quick corner routine. Davies’ assist for Karl’s winner marked an encouraging return from a hamstring injury for the Canada left back ahead of the World Cup.
Bayer Leverkusen surged back from 3-1 down to beat Wolfsburg 6-3 in an action-packed game which pushed relegation-threatened Wolfsburg closer to ending its 29-year stay in the top division.
Leverkusen’s Spanish wing back Alejandro Grimaldo scored twice to move to 14 goals for the season in all competitions as he competes for a World Cup spot. Patrick Schick, Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Malik Tillman also scored for Leverkusen.
Tapsoba’s goal marked redemption after he’d conceded a penalty which allowed Christian Eriksen to score Wolfsburg’s third, but the Leverkusen defender wasn’t the only one to achieve that feat. Wolfsburg defender Joakim Maehle scored with a low drive in the 31st barely 10 seconds after the kickoff following a penalty conceded for his own foul.
Leverkusen stayed sixth and remained firmly in the Champions League race. Wolfsburg was 17th in the 18-team league and winless since January.
Antonio Nusa and Romulo made the most of Leipzig’s few chances in a 2-0 win over Werder Bremen to stay on target for a return to the Champions League in fourth.
Leipzig got another boost as fifth-placed Hoffenheim was upset by Mainz 2-1. Union Berlin and Augsburg drew 1-1 and Franck Honorat’s goal rescued a 2-2 draw for Borussia Moenchengladbach against last-placed Heidenheim.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund played third-placed Stuttgart later Saturday.
