ANALYSIS: HOW BAYERN SET NEW BUNDESLIGA ALL-TIME LEADERSHIP MARK
Bayern Munich scores twice in stoppage time to beat St. Pauli 3-1! The dramatic comeback extends their record Bundesliga lead and breaks a nine-game losing streak for the hosts.
On Saturday, Luis Díaz and Nicolas Jackson scored in stoppage time, saving Bayern Munich from a potential upset with a 3-1 victory over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga.
Even if Bayern had lost, they would still have set a new league record of leading the Bundesliga for 44 straight matchdays.
Three minutes into added time, Díaz redirected Joshua Kimmich's cross with his shoulder, crushing St. Pauli's hope of earning a point. Soon after, Serge Gnabry assisted Jackson, who scored again.
These goals extended St. Pauli’s losing streak in the league to nine games and helped Bayern avoid some tough questions, especially after their first defeat of the season against Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.
A tie against the newly promoted team from Hamburg would have marked Bayern's second draw in three league games, after Union Berlin ended their record-breaking 16-game winning streak to start the season with a 2-2 draw on Nov. 8.
Andreas Hountondji shocked Bayern early on, scoring in the sixth minute by shooting the ball between Manuel Neuer's legs after Mathias Pereira Lage won the ball from Konrad Laimer.
The scorer had to be subbed off soon after due to a thigh injury.
Lennart Kark and, later, Tom Bischoff both hit the post as Bayern looked to respond.
Their efforts paid off just before halftime when Díaz set up Raphaël Guerreiro for the tying goal. Díaz initially attempted to control the ball but, after losing his footing, backheeled it to Guerreiro.
Harry Kane also hit the post late in the game as Bayern continued to search for the winning goal.
Elsewhere, Heidenheim also scored twice in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win at Union, moving them off the bottom of the table. St. Pauli fell to last place.
Said El Mala scored in stoppage time for Cologne, drawing their game at Werder Bremen 1-1. Bremen’s Niklas Stark was ejected after committing two bad fouls on the Cologne player.
Hoffenheim easily defeated Augsburg 3-0, with all goals scored in the first half.
Bayer Leverkusen played Borussia Dortmund later that day.
BAYERN MUNICH RULE OUT MARCUS RASHFORD MOVE REGARDLESS OF ANTHONY GORDON OUTCOME
Marcus Rashford is not a target for Bayern Munich this summer, as the club focuses entirely on signing Gordon from Newcastle.
Bayern Munich aren’t considering a move for Marcus Rashford this summer, no matter what happens with Anthony Gordon. That’s according to a German reporter who’s close to the story.
Right now, Rashford is wrapping up his loan at Barcelona. He’s set to return to Manchester United at the end of the season. Barcelona have an option to make the deal permanent for €30 million (£26 million) in the summer. Both Rashford and Barcelona want him to stay, but here’s the catch: the club doesn’t want to pay the full €30 million.
Barcelona would rather keep Rashford on loan for another year or get him for a lower fee. Manchester United’s not having it. They want the full price, so Barcelona are starting to look at other players.
Rashford hasn’t made a secret of where he wants to be. Earlier in the season, he told Sport, one of the local Barcelona papers, about how much he wants to stay, saying, “Of course, what I want is to stay at Barca. It’s the ultimate goal.” He talked about the pressure and expectations at the club, saying they keep him motivated and that he feels like he’s in the perfect environment to grow and win trophies. For now, though, it’s all up in the air until next summer.
Last year, Bayern Munich actually showed some interest in Rashford before he went to Barcelona. But now, they’re focused on signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United for the left wing. The problem is, Gordon’s interested, but Newcastle’s price is ridiculous, reportedly around £80 million (€92.6 million). That’s much higher than what Bayern’s willing to pay. They’re thinking closer to £60 million (€69.4 million), and maybe with add-ons or an instalment plan. If Newcastle won’t budge, it probably isn’t happening.
Christian Falk, a trusted journalist from Bild, says Bayern aren’t considering Rashford as a backup if they can’t land Gordon. Bayern’s got a short list of players for the left wing, and Rashford isn’t on it. Gordon’s their main focus, but even if that deal falls through, Rashford’s not the next in line.
So at this stage, Bayern and Rashford won’t be coming together this summer, even if Gordon stays at Newcastle. That’s just not in the plans.
BAYERN MUNICH IDENTIFY ARSENAL’S KAI HAVERTZ AS TOP TARGET FOR SUMMER WINDOW
From North London to Munich? Kai Havertz emerges as the leading candidate to join Bayern’s elite Premier League-built attack.
Bayern Munich still have their eye on an Arsenal star, hoping to bring more Premier League experience up front, especially after plans with Chelsea fell apart.
Right now, Bayern are among the best teams in Europe. It really depends on how you rank PSG, but Bayern’s up there, no question. Vincent Kompany deserves a lot of credit for getting them to this level. Still, you can’t ignore their recruitment. They keep picking top-flight Premier League attackers, and it works.
With Luis Diaz, Harry Kane, and Michael Olise, Bayern’s attack is lethal. Those three have already scored 100 goals this season. Defenders in the Bundesliga just can’t cope, and you can tell their time in England’s toughest league has paid off.
Bayern have another Premier League forward in the mix right now, but he’s not sticking around.
Chelsea deal off, Bayern looking at Arsenal.
On Wednesday, Fabrizio Romano made it official that X: Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson will head back to Stamford Bridge this summer because Bayern aren’t activating his €65m buy option. Bayern’s director, Max Eberl, confirmed it, so that the backup spot behind Kane opens again when Jackson leaves.
James Benge reports that Kai Havertz’s name is coming up as a possible replacement. He said on the Inside Arsenal podcast that Bayern are definitely interested, “but nothing concrete yet.” Havertz could be the squad player who covers for Musiala and Kane.
Honestly, signing a German for Germany’s top club makes sense. Arsenal won’t just roll over, though, if Bayern come calling. Even after picking up Viktor Gyokeres last summer, Mikel Arteta still prefers Havertz up front. When Arsenal played Manchester City in their biggest game this season, Arteta benched Gyokeres and started Havertz.
Havertz has had injury issues this year. Heading into summer, he’ll still have two years left on his contract. If Bayern make a strong offer, Arsenal could think about selling.