Jamal Musiala came off the bench to rescue an injury-hit Bayern Munich, scoring twice in a 4-2 victory over lowly Heidenheim, which sent his side six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
With the top four sides all facing bottom-half teams in this round, Frankfurt squandered a one-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home against Augsburg, losing ground on Bayern.
Bayern dominated the game but struggled to convert their pressure into goals, with Harry Kane’s absence keenly felt.
The Bavarians led 1-0 at halftime after Dayot Upamecano headed in from a corner 18 minutes into the match.
However, Upamecano turned villain early in the second half, gifting possession to Mathias Honsak, who seized the opportunity to equalise.
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany, whose side had been eliminated from the German Cup by Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the week, brought on Musiala as a substitute. The 21-year-old made an immediate impact, blasting in a goal just five minutes later.
Leon Goretzka added a late goal to put Bayern in control, but Heidenheim kept the pressure on, with Niklas Dorsch pulling one back.
Musiala had the final word, driving from the halfway line on the counter-attack to score his second goal and secure Bayern’s victory.
Veteran Bayern player Thomas Müller praised Musiala’s performance, telling Sky Germany: “What he’s doing, we expect that from him now. We’re happy we’ve got him.”
AFP
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