Luis Díaz was the outstanding figure with three goals and an assist. The Colombian had only ended a brief scoring drought against Viking in midweek and followed that up with a hat-trick against Leipzig. Aleksandar Pavlović, Michael Olise and Harry Kane scored Bayern’s other goals.
Bayern close to full strength and dominant from the start
Vincent Kompany made three changes from the 3-3 draw in Stavanger. Dayot Upamecano replaced Jonathan Tah at centre-back, Pavlović returned for Tom Bischof in midfield and Ismael Saibari started behind Kane in place of Lennart Karl. Manuel Neuer and Jamal Musiala remained unavailable, but Bayern otherwise fielded a very strong side.
Leipzig started with Christopher Nkunku through the middle, supported by Antonio Nusa and Brajan Gruda in the attacking areas. Martín Demichelis packed the midfield and wanted his side to use the pace of their forwards quickly after regaining possession.
They were barely given the opportunity. Bayern pressed with far more focus than against Viking and reacted immediately after losing the ball, cutting out many of Leipzig’s transitions before they could develop. Kane also repeatedly dropped away from the centre-forward position, creating space for Díaz, Olise and Saibari. Leipzig struggled with both those movements and Bayern’s quick switches of play.
Díaz strikes first before Pavlović and Olise add to the lead
The opener arrived after 12 minutes. Joshua Kimmich spotted the space behind Leipzig’s back line and clipped the ball into Díaz’s path. The Colombian controlled it cleanly and finished past Maarten Vandevoordt into the bottom-left corner from around 14 metres.
Bayern remained a constant threat. Upamecano was denied from close range by Vandevoordt, Saibari also found himself in promising positions and Leipzig struggled to relieve the pressure.
The second goal followed in the 26th minute. Kane dropped deep and released Díaz down the left. The winger drew several Leipzig defenders towards him before laying the ball off for Pavlović, who finished from close range.
Eight minutes later, the contest was effectively over. Bayern won possession around the halfway line, Olise combined with Kane and continued his run. The England captain returned the ball and Olise found the far corner from around 18 metres.
Leipzig had major problems dealing with Bayern’s counterpress. They were given almost no time after winning the ball because Kimmich and Pavlović immediately closed them down. At the same time, full-backs Laimer and Brown pushed forward aggressively. As a result, Leipzig were rarely able to exploit the pace of Nusa and Gruda.
The 3-0 scoreline at half-time was arguably even flattering to the visitors. Olise also hit the post, while Vandevoordt prevented the deficit from growing further. After 37 minutes, the expected goals already stood at 1.66 to 0.10.
Bayern pile on the pressure after half-time
Demichelis reacted at the interval by introducing Nicolas Seiwald and Tidiam Gomis for Banzuzi and Nkunku. It did little to change the balance of the game.
Just two minutes after the restart, Bayern won the ball again in midfield. Kane immediately accelerated the attack and sent Díaz down the left. The Colombian took on Lukas Klostermann, cut inside and made it 4-0. Klostermann never found a way to contain Díaz and was substituted after an hour.
The fifth followed in the 53rd minute. Díaz started the move, Brown burst into the area from deep and sent a low ball across goal. Kane only had to tap in from five metres. It was the striker’s 102nd league goal in his 100th Bundesliga appearance.
Kompany was then able to manage the workload, withdrawing Kane, Saibari, Pavlović and Laimer before the hour mark. Bayern nevertheless lost neither their structure nor their attacking threat.
Díaz caps a superb individual display
The sixth goal in the 69th minute belonged to Díaz. After a short corner, Olise found the Colombian, who moved laterally along the edge of the box before scoring his third of the evening from around 18 metres.
With a hat-trick and an assist for the second goal, Díaz was the outstanding player on the pitch. After several weeks in which he had shown plenty of promise without always producing the final product, he displayed his full quality against Leipzig. He had already returned to the scoresheet against Viking, and Leipzig’s defence had no answer to him.
Olise also produced an excellent display despite his midweek dismissal. Alongside his own goal, he assisted the sixth and hit the post. Nusa, by contrast, was largely kept out of the game and was substituted after an hour.
Leipzig finally found a consolation goal in stoppage time. Gruda was afforded too much space on the right and cut the ball back for Andrija Maksimović, who scored from the edge of the area to make it 6-1.
Bayern solve the problems exposed in Stavanger
The final numbers underline Bayern’s dominance. The hosts registered 29 shots, 17 of them on target, compared with Leipzig’s 12 attempts and four on target. Bayern also had around 62 per cent possession and an 11-3 advantage in corners. The expected-goals numbers were especially telling: 4.27 to 0.62. Six goals slightly exceeded the quality of the chances, but there was no question that the margin of victory was thoroughly deserved.
Compared with the 3-3 draw against Viking, Bayern looked far more complete. In Stavanger, they had also created plenty of chances but repeatedly handed the opposition opportunities through mistakes in possession, poor defensive cover and set pieces. Against Leipzig, the distances between the lines were tighter, turnovers were dealt with immediately and RB were rarely allowed to attack open space.
That was precisely where Leipzig’s plan failed. The visitors wanted to break forward quickly after winning the ball but often lost possession again with their first or second pass. At the other end, large spaces opened behind their midfield whenever Bayern bypassed the first line of pressure. Díaz and Olise repeatedly attacked those areas, while Kane’s movement into deeper positions made Leipzig’s defensive assignments even more difficult.
Bayern deliver exactly the response Kompany wanted
For Leipzig, almost nothing worked. They never found a solution to Bayern’s movement in attack, could not escape the counterpress and defended the spaces in front of their back line far too openly. Their plan to attack through quick transitions became largely irrelevant because Bayern denied them those situations almost entirely.
Bayern, meanwhile, showed exactly the defensive alertness that had been missing against Augsburg and Viking without sacrificing any of their attacking quality. Kompany had said before the match that his team were “not far from our very best version” despite the two draws. Against Leipzig, Bayern came very close to it.
After two successive draws, the response could hardly have been more convincing. Ahead of the Champions League clash with Arsenal, Bayern demonstrated not only their enormous attacking quality but also how difficult they are to play against when their pressing, counterpressing and defensive cover all work in unison.
