As the Bundesliga resumed play on Friday, RB Leipzig held off Bayern Munich to a thrilling 1-1 tie. At Red Bull Arena, Marcel Halstenberg scored in the 52nd minute to even the score between third-place Leipzig and the league leaders.
Eight minutes before halftime, Julian Nagelsmann witnessed his team grab the lead against his old club, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting continuing where he left off before the World Cup break.
Bayern had good luck. Dayot Upamecano, a former defender for Leipzig, was still on the field after making a reckless tackle on Dominik Szoboszlai, but the visitors' streak of 10 straight victories across all competitions came to an end.
As one of few bright spots for Germany in Qatar, Jamal Musiala set up the opening opportunity when he passed in Serge Gnabry, whose effort was deflected off the post by another World Cup superstar Josko Gvardiol.
When Leon Goretzka nodded in from Choupo-flick-on, Moting's he thought Bayern had taken the lead. However, the goal was disallowed because Matthijs de Ligt had strayed offside during the buildup, and the VAR upheld the linesman's decision.
Choupo-Moting scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of the season after meeting Gnabry's exact left-wing cross to give Bayern the lead, though. In the first half, Yann Sommer didn't have much to do, but minutes later, the Bayern rookie was removing the ball from his goal.
Due to Joshua Kimmich's sloppy pass, Bayern struggled to clear their lines, and eventually allowed Halstenberg to prod home from close range despite calls for a foul earlier in the play.
Upamecano, who scythed down Szoboszlai and appeared to be the final defender, was fortunate to avoid receiving a red card, but Bayern made their good fortune count to earn a point.
BUNDESLIGA MAKES A STRONG RETURN
Even taking into consideration the 2020 coronavirus-enforced suspension into account, the 68-day gap between the last Bundesliga match in November and this match is the longest the competition has been suspended for within a season since the 1996-97 campaign (69 days) (66 days).
Even though both sides shown some signs of rust—as evidenced by the fact that they combined for only five shots on goal—it was nevertheless an exciting game, even though it lacked Bayern's creative edge from its 5-3 victory in the DFL-Supercup in July.
Although second-placed Freiburg would get within two points of the champions if they win Wolfsburg on Saturday, Bayern would be content to leave with a point that keeps Leipzig six points behind them.
CHOUPO-GREATEST MOTING'S SEASON IN HIS CAREER
Choupo-Moting has already scored 12 goals for Bayern this season in all competitions, which is the highest total of his career. Even before Sadio Mane's injury prior to the World Cup, the 33-year-old had transitioned from a backup to a certain starter.
In only their 16th game, his close-range finish gave Bayern their 50th league goal of the year. Only Bayern themselves have reached the 50-goal mark in the competition in 15 or fewer games within a single season, as they did in the 1976–1977 campaign.
UPAMECANO GIVES THANKS FOR EVERYTHING
The fact that Upamecano, a former teammate of Leipzig's, received a caution rather than a red card in the 66th minute gave the Leipzig players every cause to be resentful.
Despite the officials' apparent belief that Matthijs de Ligt would have been able to stop the Hungary international, who was about 40 yards from goal but sprinting into free space, the official's dive on Szoboszlai was frantic.
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