RB Leipzig 1-5 Bayern Munich: Leaders stay unbeaten with five-star comeback

Bayern Munich’s unbeaten start to their Bundesliga title defence continued as they came from behind to thump RB Leipzig 5-1 at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

Bayern had been stunned by Romulo’s opener, but Vincent Kompany’s runaway leaders turned it up a notch in the second half, with all five of their goals coming after the break.

Leipzig dominated a chaotic opening 20 minutes, with Romulo thwarted by the feet of Manuel Neuer before Antonio Nusa somehow stabbed Yan Diomande’s inviting cross wide.

But their persistence was rewarded soon after when Romulo slid in to tuck David Raum’s delivery into the back of the net to round off a brilliant passing move from Leipzig.

However, Bayern needed just five minutes into the second half to restore parity, with Dayot Upamecano’s interception teeing up Serge Gnabry, who fired past Peter Gulacsi.

And the visitors got themselves in front in the 67th minute through Harry Kane, who took a touch before picking out the top-left corner following Michael Olise’s centre.

Bayern rubber-stamped the victory with three goals inside six minutes late on, the first of which came from the head of Jonathan Tah following another teasing set-piece by Olise.

Aleksandar Pavlovic then tucked home to give Olise another assist, with the Frenchman capping a fine display off the bench with a sensational finish of his own in the 88th minute.

Data Debrief: Olise matches Ribery with stunning cameo appearance

Olise had not often found himself on the Bayern bench in the Bundesliga this season, but once he replaced Lennart Karl in the 56th minute, he delivered a sensational showing that further proved the quality that Kompany has at his disposal.

Indeed, Olise became the second player on record (since 2004-05), to assist three goals after coming on as a substitute in a Bundesliga match, following in the footsteps of Bayern legend Franck Ribery, who did so against Wolfsburg in 2019.

And his display helped Bayern achieve an unusual victory. They won a Bundesliga match after trailing at half-time away from home for the first time since September 2 against Borussia Monchengladbach, ending a run of seven such games without a victory.

It was certainly a game for the neutral. Bayern ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 4.63 from their 19 shots, 12 of which were on target, while Leipzig accumulated an xG tally of 2.46 from their 17 attempts.