Thanks to a narrow but well-deserved win against a very harmless Benfica, FC Bayern are back on the road to winning in the Champions League after two defeats and are thus climbing further up the table.
It was all in the head: Jamal Musiala is happy after his 1-0 win against Benfica.
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Munich coach Vincent Kompany changed his starting eleven to two positions compared to the 3-0 win against Union Berlin: Instead of Guerreiro and Coman (both on the bench), Laimer and Gnabry started.
Benfica coach Bruno Lage rotated to four positions after the 2-1 away win at SC Farense. Kaboré, Antonio Silva, ex-Munich player Renato Sanches and Amdouni played for Bah (injured), Florentino, di Maria and Pavlidis (all bench).
Late start, superior Munich team
The game began 15 minutes late for some of the spectators after problems arriving by subway due to a signal box malfunction near the arena. There were also problems at stations in the city center. After fans apparently set off fireworks, a fire brigade call-out was necessary.
Game grade
A one-sided and tough encounter with guests who were only interested in defending and therefore allowed little spectacle.
4
Game data
Bayern
Neuer3 – Laimer3,5Upamecano2,5M.-J. Kim2Davies3 – Kimmich3Joao Palhinha2,5Olise4 She had to2,5 Gnabry3 – Kane3
SL Benfica
Trubin2 – Tomas Araujo4,5Otamendi3,5Antonio Silva4 – Kaboré5 Racing4,5Renato Sanches3,5 Aursnes3,5Kökcü4,5 – Amdouni5,5 Akturkoglu5,5
Spielinfo
| Stadium | Allianz-Arena |
| Viewers | 75,000 (sold out) |
When the game finally started, the first half was very one-sided, although not particularly eventful. Bayern had clear playing advantages against deep-lying Portuguese, who rarely advanced over the halfway line.
Trubin as Benfica's rock in the surf
However, there were initially no clear chances – or even just shots on goal – for the German record champions. Only after about half an hour did the FCB increase the tempo a little more and now became more dangerous: Kane was denied by Trubin three times (32nd, 33rd, 39th), before Gnabry couldn't get past the Benfica keeper, who reflexively followed suit parried strongly with his arm (39'). So it remained 0-0 at halftime.
After the break, Lage brought in two more former Bundesliga players, the ex-Heidenheimer Beste and the ex-Bochum Pavlidis. Beste was used on the right side of the guests. The Munich team then tried to build on their pressure phase shortly before the break. It wasn't until Sané came on for Olise in the 56th minute that Upper Bavaria actually became more dangerous again. The offensive player forced Trubin to make two more good saves (59th, 64th).
Musiala scores the golden goal of the evening
In the 67th minute, the deserved lead was achieved: Kane – after a sensitive Sané cross – cleverly led the way into the center to Musiala, who headed the ball home to make it 1-0. Anyone who expected the Portuguese to become more offensive was disappointed. Bayern continued to play forward, but without creating any further great chances, so it was a narrow but well-deserved success.
The Munich team will play FC St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Benfica faces the challenge of the domestic league in the top game against FC Porto on Sunday (9:45 p.m.). Bayern's next home game in the premier class awaits on November 26th (9 p.m.) against Paris St. Germain. The Portuguese will play away again in the game against AS Monaco.
