Lucas Höler snatches draw for Freiburg at Bayern Munich
Freiburg grabbed a point from Bayern Munich on Saturday, Lucas Höler's late strike cancelling out Serge Gnabry's maiden Bundesliga goal for Niko Kovac's side in a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern 1-1 Freiburg
Goals: 1-0 Gnabry (80'), 1-1 Höler (88')
The match began largely as anticipated, with Bayern dominating possession and playing almost exclusively in Freiburg's half, but they struggled to break down their visitors' packed backline. Niklas Süle, David Alaba and Renato Sanches all missed the target with long-range efforts, while Robert Lewandowski had the hosts' best chance when one-on-one with Alexander Schwolow, but the Freiburg goalkeeper narrowed the angle well and made a good save.
Freiburg adopted a bolder approach at the start of the second 45 minutes and even had the ball in the net, only for Tim Kleindienst's header to be ruled out for offside following a free-kick. Perhaps inevitably, Niko Kovac's men eventually wrestled control of the game again, but goal-mouth action remained scarce until the closing stages when Gnabry finished a driving run from the right wing with a low shot inside the near post. That looked to have given Bayern all three points, but Freiburg had other ideas and earned a valuable point when Höler volleyed in Christian Günter's pinpoint cross from the left.
Match stats
- Gnabry's goal was his first in the Bundesliga for Bayern. Both Manuel Neuer and David Alaba made their 200th Bundesliga appearances for Bayern in this game. Normally a right-back at club level, Joshua Kimmich played in defensive midfield for the first time this season for Bayern. James made his 50th competitive outing for Bayern. Freiburg's Kleindienst made his first start of the season here. Höler scored for the first time away from home and also netted for a second successive league game.Freiburg picked up their first ever point at the Allianz Arena; they last got a result in Munich in 1997.
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Line-ups
Bayern: Neuer (c) – Rafinha, Süle, Boateng, Alaba – Robben (62' Ribery), Sanches, Kimmich, James (Müller 71'), Gnabry (Goretzka 83')– Lewandowski
Unused Subs: Ulreich, Hummels, Martinez, Wagner
Absentees: Coman (ankle), Thiago (ankle), Tolisso (knee)
Coach: Niko Kovac
Freiburg: Schwolow – Stenzel, Gulde, Heintz, Günter – Haberer, Koch, Höfler, Frantz (c) (Terrazzino 68') – Kleindienst (Waldschmidt 83'), Höler (Lienhart 89')
Unused subs: Flekken, Okoroji, Kammerbauer, Ravet
Absentees: Borello (cruciate ligament), Gondorf (hamstring), Niederlechner (ankle), Stanko (knee), Petersen (muscular), Kübler (thigh), Abrashi (fitness)
Coach: Christian Streich
Watch: Serge Gnabry laments Freiburg's late leveller
As it happened