Bayern stumble to a 1-1 draw at Leipzig in Bundesliga restart

Agency :
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich took the lead but had to settle for a 1-1 draw at RB Leipzig on Friday following a toothless second half, as the league resumed after a two-month break.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put the visitors in front in the 38th minute following a strong first half but Leipzig levelled with Marcel Halstenberg seven minutes after the restart.The Bayern coach is without captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, out with a broken leg, and defender Lucas Hernandez, who will also miss the rest of the season following his knee ligament injury during the World Cup.The 34-year-old Swiss signed a contract to 2025 ending a weeks-long frantic search by Bayern for a goalkeeper following Neuer’s injury.A 10th successive victory in all competitions looked in the bag thanks to Bruno Fernandes’s goal shortly before halftime but they were stunned by Michael Olise’s superb free kick.
Bayern, missing several players through injury, including keeper Manuel Neuer, Sadio Mane and Lucas Hernandez, are top on 35 points, with Leipzig in third place on 29.Second-placed Freiburg, on 30, travel to VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.Forward Sadio Mane has just recovered from an injury that had ruled him out of the tournament in Qatar and is not fit for Saturday.Despite the absences Bayern, eyeing a record-extending 11th consecutive league title, still fielded a starting 11 consisting entirely of World Cup participants.”He brings everything in order to be able to contribute immediately to our success.With Swiss international Yann Sommer in goal, after the keeper was signed on Thursday from Borussia Moenchengladbach to replace the injured Neuer, they got off to a strong start with Serge Gnabry hitting the post in the eighth minute.Leipzig, however, are unbeaten in the league since mid-September.Leon Goretzka then put the ball into the net in the 31st but with his effort being ruled out for being offside, Bayern upped the pressure.United controlled most of the second period but could not hang on as Olise sent a curling free kick past David de Gea.
It paid off in the 38th when Gnabry floated a perfect cross into the box and Cameroon forward Choupo-Moting beat his markers to tap in at the far post.”Should we lose then it gets tight and then we are under more pressure than if we win.The 34-year-old Sommer, who helped Switzerland past the group stage in last month’s World Cup, has been at Gladbach since 2014 and has played in the Champions League with both Basel and Gladbach.Leipzig, who had not lost a league game since September, struggled in the first half but struck seven minutes after the break with Halstenberg’s effort also at the far post.Bayern settled for a point after their lacklustre second half performance in which their first effort on goal was in the 87th minute.”It is clear we have a big task (against PSG) and that the way there will influence our performance,” Nagelsmann told reporters.