After 25 days, the Bavarians bring their lead to 9 points over Dortmund, who will not play this weekend.

Borussia's match was postponed due to an explosion of Covid-19 cases at Mainz, which they were set to face on Sunday.

Niklas Süle opened the scoring for Bayern in the 18th minute, and Thomas Müller scored in the 36th minute the first "own goal" of his career, after 615 professional appearances with Munich, to equalize for Leverkusen.

Bayern Munich striker Thomas Mueller, during the home match of the 25th day of the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen, March 5, 2022 Christof STACHE AFP

Leverkusen remains on the podium, still 14 points behind "Rekordmeister".

Leipzig, which snatched a 1-1 draw against Freiburg at the last minute thanks to Angelino, remains provisionally fourth ahead of its opponent of the day, thanks to a better goal difference (41 pts for both).

But Hoffenheim, in ambush with 40 pts, can take the precious fourth place on Sunday, qualifying for the Champions League, provided they win on the road to Cologne.

Upamecano is holed up

Should Bayern be worried before their return match of the knockout stages of the Champions League, at home against Salzburg, after the 1-1 snatch in the first leg in the 90th minute, thanks to Kingsley Coman?

Certainly the opposition offered by Leverkusen was solid, and Bayern offered themselves a number of scoring opportunities, especially in the second half.

But the lack of conviction in front, and a certain feverishness behind, with again a major error from Dayot Upamecano, leaves room for doubt.

Bayern Munich's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski with an armband in the colors of Ukraine during the home match of the 25th day of the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen, March 5, 2022 Christof STACHE AFP

Far from being a stooge, RB Salzburg showed in the first leg that they could thwart the German champions.

And the vivacity of the very young attackers of the Austrian club can make the Bavarian defense suffer, not really serene for several weeks.

Bayern entered the match well, however, and the opener by Niklas Süle in the 18th minute logically rewarded a sequence of enormous pressure on the goal of Lukas Hradecky (1-0).

The joy of Bayern Munich defender Niklas Suele after opening the scoring against Bayer Lerkusen in the home match of the 25th day of the Bundesliga, March 5, 2022 Christof STACHE AFP

But the machine went wrong shortly after, when the interim captain Thomas Müller, wanting to clear a ball for a corner, scored in the goal of his goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, the replacement for Manuel Neuer still in the recovery phase after his operation. knee (1-1).

Bayern's luck

The game then changed.

And Bayern were lucky.

Amine Adli, the 21-year-old Frenchman trained in Toulouse, must still wonder how he missed three huge chances in three minutes at the end of the first period.

The first was offered to him on a set by his compatriot Upamecano, author of a catastrophic back pass.

Adli intercepted, dribbled Sven Ulreich, but placed his ball on the post (42nd).

A minute later, the same Adli arrived alone in front of Ulreich but did not target his shot, and just 50 seconds later, it was Ulreich who pulled off a spectacular save to counter Adli's third attempt.

Bayern Munich's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski collides with Bayer Leverkusen's French striker during the home match of the 25th day of the Bundesliga on March 5, 2022 Christof STACHE AFP

The match remained very spectacular after the break, with both teams going blow for blow.

Neither of them managed the knockout, but Bayern, nine days from the end, are heading more than ever towards a tenth consecutive league title.

© 2022 AFP