BERLIN, March 16 (Xinhua) — Jamal Musiala’s brace paved the way for Bayern Munich’s 5-2 comeback victory over last-placed Darmstadt in the Bundesliga’s 26th round on Saturday.
The German giants assumed control from the starting whistle and dominated the possession.
Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen denied Bayern the opener as Joshua Kimmich couldn’t finish off Musiala’s solo run in the seventh minute.
The hosts responded well as Mathias Honsak forced Bayern custodian Manuel Neuer into action with 16 minutes gone.
Honsak was involved again 12 minutes later after he danced through Bayern’s defense before teeing up for Tim Skarke, who made no mistake and curled the ball past Neuer to open the scoring.
Darmstadt’s lead didn’t last long as Bayern pushed forward and restored parity after Harry Kane assisted Musiala inside the box in the 36th minute.
Kane turned the tides with a header on Kimmich’s cross to set a new Bundesliga record for goals scored in a debut season after marking his 31st of the campaign in the closing stages of the first half.
Darmstadt nearly stunned Bayern with the leveller seconds later but for all that, Oscar Vilhelmsson rattled only the woodwork from a promising position.
The break disrupted the flow of the game, but Bayern remained in control and extended its lead as Musiala finished the job following a solo run, making it 3-1 at the hour mark.
Darmstadt couldn’t keep Musiala at bay as the German international assisted Serge Gnabry, who tapped home left-footed with 74 minutes played.
Bayern made it five after Mathys Tel hammered home a loose ball.
Darmstadt’s Vilhelmsson reduced the arrears to 5-2 after latching onto Sebastian Polter’s square pass on 95 minutes.
With the victory, second-placed Bayern narrowed the gap to seven points behind leader Leverkusen. Darmstadt stays on the last place of the table.
“We didn’t lose our focus and always had the opportunity to go further offensively. We deserved to score five goals and we could have scored more. But of course: conceding two goals is too many because we allowed too much,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.
Elsewhere, Union Berlin edged Werder Bremen 2-1 thanks to two second-half goals. Augsburg overpowered ten-man Wolfsburg 3-1 and extended the winless run of the Wolves to 11 games. Jonathan Burkardt’s brace secured Mainz a 2-0 victory over Bochum. Heidenheim held Borussia Monchengladbach to a 1-1 stalemate and Stuttgart cemented its third spot after beating Hoffenheim 3-0.
On Friday, Leipzig eased 5-1 past struggling Cologne to increase the relegation worries of the Billy Goats. â
