Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Muller react to Bayern Munich’s vital 2-1 win over SC Freiburg

They made hard work of it, but Bayern Munich came out 2-1 winners over SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena to head into the international break on a high note. Goals in either half from Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski were enough for Julian Nagelsmann’s side to collect full points, though the late goal from Janik Haberer made for a nervy finish for Bayern. Christian Striech’s side certainly had their fair share of chances, but had it not been for a characteristically solid performance from keeper Mark Flekken, Bayern easily could’ve scored four or five goals throughout proceedings.

Thomas Muller provided the assist for Goretzka’s goal and took his Bundesliga tally to 8 on the season, which is a league best. He put in another solid shift before being replaced by Jamal Musiala in the 71st minute, and speaking after the match, the Raumdeuter said he knew just how important the three points against a well disciplined Freiburg side were and that it was a pleasure to do so in front of a packed Allianz Arena. “We knew it was going to be an important game. We wanted to end the period with a win and pass the pressure on to the pursuers. I am happy that the fans are completely there again. The hut was full, the game was intense. The audience saw a beautiful and delightful game. If you win in the end, it’s always wonderful. We have a nice weekend now. When we come back from the national teams, we know that Bayern will be top of the table - there is nothing better,” he explained (FCBayern.com)

With the amount of saves Flekken was making within the first 15-20 minutes or so, it looked as if it was going to be one of those frustrating afternoons for Bayern. It was reminiscent of the ruckrunde meeting in the Black Forest last season between the two sides where Flekken had denied Lewandowski what would’ve been, at the time, his 41st, record-breaking goal on a handful of occasions. Of course, the Polish ace still went on to break the record with the last kick of the season, but Flekken certainly frustrated him significantly in that department. On the balance, Bayern registered a total of 11 shots on target to Freiburg’s 3 and they had 18 shots off frame.

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

Nagelsmann recognized just how many situations Bayern had in and around Freiburg’s box, and suggested that perhaps they should’ve created more credible chances from said situations. Still, though, he’s pleased that his side was able to take full points to head into the international break since they had suffered the 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt just before the last break. “In the end, it’s a deserved win. We had a lot of situations in the box, but Freiburg defended it well, so maybe we didn’t have the clear chances like in the last games. In the end, we get the goal a bit unlucky. Two goals were enough, but today there was more in it. We went into the last international break with a defeat against Frankfurt. We wanted to do better today. It was also a success against a direct competitor. It was an important victory,” he said.