<\/p>\n
Bayern Munich completed half a century of Bundesliga games without defeat with victory over the only remaining league side they have not beaten yet this season, Bayer Leverkusen.<\/p>\n
Bundesliga top-scorer Mario Mandzukic headed them in front just before the break with Bastian Schweinsteiger sealing victory shortly after the interval.<\/p>\n
Stefan Kiessling nodded in a consolation in stoppage time to make the final score 2-1.<\/p>\n
With Borussia Dortmund losing earlier on Saturday, Bayern now have a 23-point advantage at the top of the table and could wrap up the title quicker than anybody ever before with a win at Mainz next weekend.<\/p>\n
Leverkusen, who drew at home to Bayern earlier this season, were the last side to beat the Bavarians in October 2012.<\/p>\n
They showed why they have proven to be a thorn in Bayern’s side with a bold beginning to the game, Stefan Kiessling sending Heung-Min Son through for a good early chance which the South Korean slotted wide of the far post.<\/p>\n
Kiessling was almost faced with only Manuel Neuer to beat in the 14th minute, but the offside flag stopped him in his tracks.<\/p>\n
While they were not creating many chances, Bayern were playing their usual possession game and they finally made the breakthrough just a minute before half-time.<\/p>\n
Schweinsteiger lifted a ball into the area and Mandzukic showed why he’s the Bundesliga’s top marksman with a determined leap and header past Bernd Leno from close range.<\/p>\n
The contest was effectively over seven minutes into the second half when Schweinsteiger curled in a direct free-kick which grazed the underside of the crossbar on its way past Leno.<\/p>\n
Simon Rolfes flashed a volley over the crossbar, but Bayern’s lead was never in any doubt.<\/p>\n
Coach Pep Guardiola was able to rotate his players around again with Arjen Robben removed for a rest, but still they looked invincible, even if Kiessling headed in a late consolation.<\/p>\n
Even in their first match since Uli Hoeness resigned as president after being sentenced to prison for tax evasion, Bayern showed they are in a league of their own as they edge closer to winning the title in record-breaking time – as early as next Saturday, with nine league games of the season still to go.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bayern Munich completed half a century of Bundesliga games without defeat with victory over the only remaining league side they have not beaten yet this season, Bayer Leverkusen. Bundesliga top-scorer Mario Mandzukic headed them in front just before the break with Bastian Schweinsteiger sealing victory shortly after the interval. Stefan Kiessling nodded in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[115,60],"tags":[37],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2789"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2791,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2789\/revisions\/2791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/africanexaminer.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}