Bayern Munich strengthened their lead at the top of the Bundesliga, moving 7 points clear of their closest rival and defending champion Bayer Leverkusen with a challenging 3-2 win against Wolfsburg on Saturday in the 18th round.
Leon Goretzka (20, 62) and Frenchman Michael Olise (39) scored Bayern’s goals, while Algerian international Mohamed Amoura (24, 88) scored both goals for Wolfsburg.
Bayern, maintaining their unbeaten league record, prepared in the best way for their upcoming European Champions League clash against Feyenoord Rotterdam on Wednesday.
This marked Bayern’s fourth consecutive win following victories over Leipzig (5-1), Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-0), and Hoffenheim (5-0).
They raised their tally to 45 points, 7 ahead of Leverkusen, which could reduce the gap to 4 points if they win against Mönchengladbach later in the evening.
Bayern’s coach Vincent Kompany made four changes from their last match against Hoffenheim, starting Konrad Laimer, Kim Min-Jae, Goretzka, and Olise instead of Raphael Guerreiro, Eric Dier, Thomas Müller, and Alexander Pavlovic.
Kompany praised Goretzka, who was expected to leave earlier this season, saying, "Leon worked hard and showed us in training that he is still hungry. He’s playing well, and it’s a good story not just for him but for the team and younger players who may go through tough phases."
At the Allianz Arena in freezing conditions of -2°C and in front of 75,000 fans, Bayern started aggressively, with Leroy Sané hitting the crossbar in the third minute.
Bayern opened the scoring when Kim recovered the ball and passed it to Joshua Kimmich, who set up Goretzka to beat Bence Dárdai and score with a right-footed strike past Polish goalkeeper Kamil Grabara (21).
However, Bayern’s joy was short-lived as Wolfsburg equalized minutes later. A set-piece found Yannick Gerhardt, who set up Amoura to fire past captain Manuel Neuer (24).
Bayern restored their lead through Olise, who capitalized on a weak Wolfsburg defense to score his sixth league goal (40). Kimmich’s goal five minutes later was disallowed for handball after a VAR review.
In the second half, Goretzka added his second and Bayern’s third with a header from an Olise free-kick (62). Kingsley Coman missed a one-on-one chance after a long ball from Neuer, firing wide (69).
As the match neared its end, Amoura reignited the contest with his second goal (88), having earlier forced Neuer into a stunning save (82). This brought Amoura’s season tally to 8 league goals.
Bayern extended their unbeaten home record against Wolfsburg in the league to 28 matches (32 including cup games), with 26 wins and 2 draws in the league (30 wins in total).
Elsewhere, Stuttgart secured a third consecutive victory, thrashing Freiburg 4-0 with goals from Anthony Roux (2), Ermedin Demirovic (17), Nick Woltemade (45+5, penalty), and Deniz Undav (80).
Stuttgart, last season's runner-up, climbed to fourth with 32 points, one ahead of Leipzig, who slipped to fifth after a 3-3 draw with Bochum.
Hoffenheim moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win against second-bottom Holstein Kiel, climbing to 15th place with 17 points.
