London - Arabstoday
Bayern Munich scored two early goals and survived a comeback by Augsburg to secure a 2-1 victory before losing a man in second-half injury time and reclaim a five-point lead atop the Bundesliga. Playing their first game since Bastian Schweinsteiger broke his collarbone in the UEFA Champions League, Mario Gomez gave Bayern the lead after 16 minutes. Franck Ribery made it 2-0 at the 28th-minute mark before Hajime Hosogai pulled a goal back for the hosts Augsburg in the 59th minute. Bayern finished with ten men as Anatoliy Tymoshchuk was shown a red card three minutes into stoppage time. However, nonetheless, Bayern collected their third straight victory since their loss to Hannover and now have 28 points and sit five points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach. Augsburg, who had never played against Bayern in the Bundesliga, have collected just one point in their last three games and are last with eight points. With 19-year-old Austrian David Alaba filling in for Schweinsteiger, Bayern grabbed the lead after 16 minutes from a set-piece as Ribery\'s corner was headed on by Daniel van Buyten to the far right post where Gomez put the ball in from two yards out. Bayern doubled their advantage 12 minutes later with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer kicking a long ball forward. The ball went through Gomez and Thomas Muller to Ribery, who dummied Augsburg defender Dominik Reinhardt and then beat keeper Mohamed Amsif with a shot to the far post. Bayern lacked the creativity to score early in the second half and Augsburg pulled a goal back after 59 minutes. Bayern could not clear a corner with Daniel Brinkman heading to the right side of the box where Hosogai unleashed a blast from eight yards out. Alaba tried to clear the ball but it had already crossed the line. Augsburg dominated play after that, really pressuring Bayern, but the hosts missed a golden chance to equalise in the 83rd minute as Edmond Kapllani was fed a through ball but was unable to beat Neuer. Tymoshchuk was red-carded three minutes into stoppage time for his foul on Daniel Baier.