Dayot Upamecano (up) of Bayern Munich vies with Ricardo Pepi of Augsburg during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Robert Lewandowski's late penalty helped Bayern Munich secure a hard earned 1-0 victory over courageous Augsburg in the Southern derby at the 29th round on Saturday.
The German record champions dominated possession from the kick off without doing much damage as Augsburg's goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz had very little to do in the first half.
Julian Nagelsmann's men started brightly into the second half and almost broke the deadlock with 47 minutes gone but flying Gikiewicz tipped Lewandowski's dangerous header around the post.
Bayern gained momentum and created another promising chance as Gikiewicz had to fully stretch to defuse Joshua Kimmich's long range effort at the hour mark.
Augsburg defended on its back foot, but Bayern lacked in accuracy in front of the target as Benjamin Pavard headed over the target whereas Kingsley Coman and substitute Jamal Musiala pulled wide.
Bayern were able to turn their dominance into a tangible reward in the closing stages though as Reece Oxford handled the ball inside the box to cause a penalty.
Lewandowski made no mistake and send fellow countryman Gikiewicz into the wrong corner before drilling the ball into the top right corner.
The front runners missed the chance on a higher win as Coman and Kimmich squandered promising chance in the dying minutes of the game.
"We played a good game over 90 minutes but weren't rewarded unfortunately. We failed to take advantage of our few chances, which you don't get that easily in Munich," said Augsburg head coach Markus Weinzierl.
"The first half wasn't good, and we were lucky that we didn't concede a goal, but we are now in a phase where is not about playing beautiful, it is about points and victories," said Nagelsmann.
Elsewhere, Wolfsburg returned to winning ways after three defeats in a row after easing 4-0 past relegation threatened Arminia Bielefeld.
Cologne came back from two goals down and shocked Mainz with a 3-2 victory.
Borussia Monchengladbach scored twice in the first half to see off bottom side Greuther Furth while Union Berlin increased Hertha Berlin's relegation worries after reaping an empathic 4-1 away win in the capital derby. ■
Leroy Sane (R) of Bayern Munich takes a shot during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Leon Goretzka (L) of Bayern Munich vies with Iago of Augsburg during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Thomas Mueller (L) of Bayern Munich vies with Niklas Dorsch of Augsburg during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Joshua Kimmich (L) of Bayern Munich vies with Niklas Dorsch of Augsburg during a German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, April 9, 2022. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
