Karl the hero as battling Bayern defeat Freiburg at the death
| Photo: Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images. |
SC Freiburg looked set to claim a shock win over Bayern Munich this afternoon until a Tom Bischof inspired second-half rally set up the crowning moment for Lennart Karl. The 18-year-old struck in the final seconds to tap in a match-winning goal for a dramatic 3-2 triumph.
With a heavily-rotated team ahead of their upcoming clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday, Bayern were under the pump early on. Lucas Höler fired a ball from the right through the box looking for a teammate, however it almost crept inside the far post.
With their next significant attack, Manzambi skipped past Goretzka to feed Beste. A low cross from the left picked out Philipp Treu at the back post but the full-back scuffed his shot wide. At the other end, Joshua Kimmich stung the palms of Atubolu.
Manuel Neuer pulled off two fine saves in quick succession, repelling a Beste free-kick before reacting to Yuito Suzuki's snapshot. Barring a tame Gnabry free-kick and Karl's curling shot saved by Atubolu, Bayern's attack looked anything but fluid in the first-half.
If Neuer had been unbeatable before the break, that changed quickly upon the restart. Manzambi cantered through the middle and placed the ball in the lower-right corner from 25 yards leaving the 40-year-old rooted to the spot, watching it hit the net.
The net could have bulged minutes later when Treu whipped a cross in Höler's direction, but the latter cleared the ceossbar from seven yards. It wasn't long until Vincent Kompany turned to his bench as Michael Olise, Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic entered.
Olise spurned a fine chance within minutes of his cameo, steering Diaz's delivery wide from five yards out. However, the subs didn't have the desired effect. The Breisgauers made it 2-0 when Beste's set-piece was bundled in by Höler's deflected shot off Kim Min-Jae.
An in-form Atubolu shined late on, pulling off two remarkable full-stretch saves to keep both Olise and Díaz at bay. However, Bayern eventually broke down the door as Tom Bischof swiveled to pick out the lower-left corner from the edge of the box.
With 8 minutes of injury time added, the Bavarians piled on the pressure. Agony would follow for the hosts as Bischof popped up again in a similar position to equalise, while Alphonso Davies spectacularly teed up Lennart Karl at the back post for a breathtaking 3-2 victory at the death.
