STUTTGART: Bayern Mun­ich snatched a 2-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday courtesy of a fine Matthijs de Ligt performance that put them back into top spot in the Bundesliga.

The Dutch defender drilled in their opening goal in the 39th minute after also denying Stuttgart the lead two minutes earlier when he cleared the ball off the goalline.

Bayern are on 49 points, ahead on goal difference of Bor­u­ssia Dortmund. Union Berlin are in third place on 44 following their goalless draw against Cologne. De Ligt gave Bayern the break through when he wrongfooted his marker and unleashed a shot through a crowded box with Stuttgart keeper Fabian Bredlow letting the ball slip through his hands.

Just two minutes earlier it was de Ligt who had come to the rescue at the other end, clearing a point-blank Konsta­ntinos Mavropanos effort off the line.

With Stuttgart having run out of steam, Bayern struck again with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting — fresh from extending his contract on Friday — finishing off a dazzling three-pass move that left their opponents’ defence frozen in place.

Stuttgart grabbed a deser­ved goal with Juan Jose Perea in the 88th that injected some late drama in the game but the hosts ran out of time before they could find an equaliser.

Earlier on Saturday, a flat Union Berlin missed a chance to keep in touch with Bayern and Dortmund, playing out a scoreless draw at home against Cologne.

Freiburg missed a chance to overtake RB Leipzig into the Champions League places, drawing 0-0 away to Borussia Moenchengladbach.At the other end of the table, Schalke boosted their hopes of avoiding a direct return to the second division, winning 2-0 away at fellow strugglers Bochum.

The win, set up by a first-half goalkeeping howler from Bochum’s Manuel Riemann and a clever second-half strike from Marius Buelter, was Scha­lke’s first away victory in the top flight since November 2019.

Mainz lifted themselves to seventh with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Hoffenheim, thanks to a first-half strike from Leandro Barreiro while Augsburg lifted themselves eight points clear of the relegation spots with a 2-1 home win over Werder Bremen.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2023