Bayern Munich limped into its Sunday contest against Augsburg perhaps still as favorites, but shaken by the sudden loss of the team's sole remaining central defender, Holger Badstuber. Fortunately, their makeshift defense of David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich held firm while Robert Lewandowski wowed at the other end as Bayern rolled to a 3-1 win.
Augsburg started the match aggressively. They took the ball deep into Bayern's territory and attempted to disrupt Bayern's improvised defense, while Bayern set about its usual build-up game, feeding the ball to Arjen Robben and looking for opportunities to strike. Each time Robben touched the ball, he was met with whistles from the hostile crowd, referring to the controversial foul he drew against Bochum that put them down to ten men.
The first dangerous opportunity would go to Augsburg: a pass from Caiuby found Raul Bobadilla one-on-one with Neuer, but the ball rolled just beyond his reach and into Neuer's hands. Soon afterward, as Bayern recovered the ball, Robben found Thomas Müller lurking far up the pitch. Müller crossed the ball directly into the penalty area at the feet of Robert Lewandowski, who coolly shot it into the net - his twentieth goal. Philipp Lahm and Lewandowski combined to recreate the same goal just five minutes later, but this time the shot went wide.
Late in the half, a dramatic scene unfolded in front of Augsburg's goal as Douglas Costa suddenly crossed the pitch to overload the right. Augsburg was caught off guard as Thomas Müller found Lewandowski in front of the goal at the edge of the penalty box, but his shot and Müller's follow-up were both blocked, and Vidal finally blasted the ball over the net. Back in Bayern's half, Joshua Kimmich single-handedly thwarted an opportunity by Augsburg by drawing a timely foul just before Augsburg could strike.
The second half began promising, but soon turned ugly. Bayern constantly threatened Augsburg's goal in the first minutes, but a fast break by Augsburg quickly put Bayern on the defensive. Vidal, who already had taken a hard tackle in the first half, had to leave the pitch and be bandaged after taking a very hard elbow to the head while defending a corner kick. Rafinha came on for Vidal, but then David Alaba took a blow to the head so hard that it knocked out not only a contact lens but also a tooth! Alaba, remarkably, was able to continue.
Bayern quickly regained composure. Thiago found Lewandowski splitting Augsburg's defenders with a perfect run. Isolated with the keeper, Lewandowski put the ball into the back of the net. Even Rafinha got in on the action, testing Hitz with a great shot on goal and winning a corner.
Augsburg tired as the match entered the final fifteen minutes, while Bayern flirted with a third goal. After several missed crosses and blocked shots, Douglas Costa finally broke down Augsburg's defenses. After a cross to Lewandowski was blocked by Hitz, Costa collected the rebound and sent it this time to Müller, who buried it in the net. With a three-goal lead, Pep Guardiola could substitute Kingsley Coman and Sebastian Rode for Costa and Lahm.
Casual defending gifted Augsburg a late consolation goal: a through-ball by Verhaegh found Bobadilla in front of the goal. Despite being surrounded by three defenders, Bobadilla managed to control the ball, spin, and shoot it straight into the net. A parting shot from distance by Coman flew just past the far post and graced the end of what was an exciting Bavarian derby.
Match Details
Augsburg (1-3) Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich: Lewandowski (15', 62'), Müller (78')
Augsburg: Bobadilla (86')
Yellow Card: Müller (78')
Augsburg XI: Hitz - Max, Klavan, Hong (Janker 71'), Verhaegh - Gouweleeuw - Caiuby, Trochowski (Moravek 55'), Kohr, Koo (Esswein 55') - Bobadilla (86')
Bayern XI: Neuer - Bernat, Alaba, Kimmich, Lahm (Rode 82') - Thiago, Vidal (Rafinha 57') - Costa (Coman 82'), Müller, Robben - Lewandowski (15‘)