Bayern Munich beat Hertha Berlin to go top of Bundesliga

Bayern Munich defeated Hertha Berlin 2-0 thanks to a pair of second-half goals from Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.

Bayern climbs back to the top of the Bundesliga, leading second-placed Dortmund by a single point with four league games left.

Hertha Berlin themselves sink to the bottom of the Bundesliga and are six points away from safety as they struggle to avoid relegation.

Bayern were heavy favorites entering their home match with Hertha, and they played like it at the start of the game. Die Roten relentlessly attacked the Hertha defense, and it took some heroics from young Danish keeper Oliver Christensen and some luck to keep the ball out of the net.

Christensen heroics keep Hertha Berlin in game

Christensen made an array of incredible saves. He instinctively flicked out his feet to stop a Kingsley Coman shot in the 36th minute, rocketing the ball upwards and affording Hertha some time on the ball.

His fingertip save kept Hertha in the game in the 39th minute, as he barely pushed Serge Gnabry’s half-volley past the post.

He ended up getting seven saves in the match, only the second time he’s done so this season.

Christensen could not keep the game level for long though.

Bayern take the lead

After heavy Bayern pressure, a botched Hertha clearance put the ball right in the inviting feet of Joshua Kimmich. Kimmich lifted the ball with a superb pass to a streaking Serge Gnabry, who jumped and flicked his ball past Christensen to open the scoring.

Coman doubled Bayern’s lead in the 79th minute to put any hopes of a Hertha come back to bed.

It was, again, Kimmich who airlifted a very deep ball to Coman who had broken free of his marker down the wing. He smoothly nutmegged the keeper with a rolling, soft shot to end the game to 2-0 for Bayern.

With Bayern’s win, they improve to 60 points in the table, overtaking Dortmund. Dortmund can say they were unlucky, as they were denied a clear-cut penalty against Bochum on Saturday.

This could have major implications on the Bundesliga title race, as if Dortmund scored the hypothetical penalty, they would still have a one-point lead over Bayern.

Bayern will try to defend their lead with games against Werder Bremen, Schalke, Leipzig, and Koln. Meanwhile, Hertha will try to climb out of the relegation zone with games against Stuttgart, Koln, Bochum, and Wolfsburg.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Crystal Pix