A misstep by young goalkeeper Jonas Urbig led to Bayern Munich dropping points in their second consecutive Bundesliga game, culminating in a 1-1 draw against Union Berlin on Saturday.
Bayern appeared headed for a win when Leroy Sané found the net in the 75th minute, having faced difficulty penetrating Union’s solid defensive setup.
However, Urbig’s blunder eight minutes later turned the tide against them.
The error occurred when Urbig ventured off his line to intercept a deflected cross that soared high into the air.
Unfortunately, he could only manage to palm the ball into the path of Union’s striker, Benedict Hollerbach, who slotted it low to even the score.
Despite this, Bayern’s lead atop the Bundesliga standings extended to nine points over Bayer Leverkusen.
Nonetheless, Leverkusen had the chance to shrink that gap to six points by securing a victory against Stuttgart on Sunday.
Union Berlin, on the other hand, currently stands in 13th place.
Although Bayern has exhibited formidable performance in the Champions League, including a commanding 5-0 aggregate win over Leverkusen to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, their Bundesliga form seems to be waning.
The draw against Union followed their 3-2 defeat last week to Bochum.
The 21-year-old Urbig has been in goal for these recent matches owing to first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s absence, who suffered a calf injury during a celebratory moment in the first leg against Leverkusen last week.
In other action, Mainz, aspiring for a historic Champions League qualification, managed a 2-2 draw against Freiburg despite being down to ten men from a first-half red card.
Mainz, seated in third, took the lead twice with goals from Jonathan Burkardt and Andreas Hanche-Olsen, ending Freiburg’s streak of clean sheets over six games.
Freiburg, however, equalized on each occasion.
Mainz’s Dominik Kohr received a red card just before the break for a crucial foul as the last man.
Alassane Pléa’s hat trick spurred Borussia Moenchengladbach to a 4-2 triumph over Werder Bremen, bolstering Gladbach’s aspirations for a European competition berth.
Gladbach currently occupies sixth place but may fall a position if Leipzig overcomes Borussia Dortmund later on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Phillip Tietz netted the decisive goal in Augsburg’s narrow 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
