A stunning long-range goal from Jamal Musiala sent Bayern Munich five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table with a 1-0 victory over St Pauli on Saturday, as their main title rivals faltered.
While Bayern battled hard to secure the win in Hamburg, defending champions Bayer Leverkusen, second-placed RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund all dropped points.
Newly promoted St Pauli put up a strong fight against their heavily favoured opponents, determined to avoid a repeat of the 8-1 drubbing Bayern inflicted during their last visit.
Musiala, who had also netted the decisive goal in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Benfica, won possession in midfield before advancing and unleashing a shot from just under 30 metres, which struck the crossbar and bounced in.
The 21-year-old has now scored five times in his past four games since returning from a hip injury. Speaking to Sky Germany, Musiala said he “didn’t know” he could shoot from such a distance, adding, “I’ve practiced shooting from distance in training… but not that far! I’m delighted it went in today… It was my first goal from outside the box this season, and I’m always trying to work on different things to improve.”
RB Leipzig were held to a goalless draw at home by Borussia Moenchengladbach, marking Leipzig’s third 0-0 in the league this season. Gladbach, sitting mid-table, were the stronger side in the first half, with Germany striker Tim Kleindienst seeing his shot saved in the 22nd minute and Franck Honorat hitting the crossbar.
Leipzig improved in the second half, but both Christoph Baumgartner and Lois Openda squandered opportunities to score. The result leaves Leipzig five points adrift in their past six games, risking a further gap from Bayern.
“We put everything into it but lacked the final pass and that bit of quality,” Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen told Sky. “We wanted the win and had the right attitude, but we’ll work on the quality over the international break.”
Can Sent Off, Dortmund Lose
Injury-plagued Dortmund suffered another setback, losing 3-1 at Mainz after Emre Can was shown a red card in the 27th minute for a studs-up challenge on Lee Jae-sung. Can, playing out of position at centre-back, was replaced by midfielder Felix Nmecha, who was at fault for Mainz’s opener when he allowed an unmarked Lee to score with a header.
Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy won and converted a penalty to equalise, but Jonathan Burkardt restored Mainz’s lead just before half-time, smashing in a Danny da Costa pass. Paul Nebel added a third early in the second half, securing Mainz’s first home win.
A frustrated Julian Brandt defended Can, saying, “(Can) knows he needs to be more careful and is annoyed with himself… but that’s not why we conceded three goals.” Dortmund, who reached last season’s Champions League final, have now lost six consecutive away games in all competitions.
Leverkusen’s title defence continued to stutter with a 1-1 draw against bottom-placed Bochum, who equalised in the final minute. Leverkusen had led from the 18th minute when Florian Wirtz’s cross set up Patrik Schick to score, but Bochum’s Koji Miyoshi capitalised on a Jonathan Tah error to level at the near post.
Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky called the late goal “a bitter slap in the face.” The champions are now nine points behind Bayern, having dropped 13 points already this season — more than they did in the entire previous campaign.
Elsewhere, Werder Bremen secured a 2-1 home victory over Holstein Kiel, thanks to an 89th-minute winner from Oliver Burke.