Key events
28 min Bayern keep the ball for a bit to calm the game down. They haven’t threatened much in the final third though, just that early run from Olise (we still haven’t seen a replay).
Now Tella hits the bar!
25 min Leverkusen should be ahead. Hincapie, on the left, curls a wicked long cross that reaches Tella, six yards out. He crashes a volley off the top of the bar and then collides with the post.
Volleys are never easy, and the ball travelled a long way, but that was still the best chance of the match so far. He was leaning back slightly which is why the ball went straight up.
23 min Talking of beautiful first touches…
Frimpong hits the bar!
21 min Wirtz, on the left side of the area, beats Upamecano with a beautiful, quick-witted first touch and pokes a shot from a tight angle that is blocked by Neuer. The ball loops up towards Frimpong, who leaps to head against the crossbar. He jumped as high as possible but couldn’t quite get over the ball.
20 min Grimaldo’s corner is headed away.
20 min That’s better from Leverkusen. Wirtz pulls out to the left and plays a lovely pass into the underlapping Hincapie, whose cutback hits Laimer and goes behind for a corner.
19 min If this game was being played on Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning, I think I’d go home and watch Dawson’s Creek. It’s been a very poor start.
18 min Tella, the brightest attacker on either side so far, makes a good angled run into the area to receive Xhaka’s quick free-kick. He hits a first-time shot on the turn that is well blocked by the sliding Kim.
16 min Xabi Alonso shows his irritation when Kim Min-jae doesn’t get booked for a foul on Tella. Not sure it merited a yellow card but it’s a reflection of the irritable mood in the stadium.
14 min There are plenty of challenges flying in. Musiala was limping a moment ago but he seems okay now.
13 min “What are Bayern doing that folk wisdom tells me England signally fail to do?” wonders Stephen Knowles. “Or, to rephrase, is Kane a washed-up, immobile antique who England should bin for Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins et al, or still an utterly lethal, elite player as the statistics would suggest?”
I haven’t seen Bayern enough to comment but one obvious difference is that their wide players are quicker and make more runs in behind. Also: they’re not playing in June.
11 min Hincapie is booked for a bruising scissor tackle on Upamecano, which leads to a bit of pushing and shoving from the players on both sides.
10 min At the other end, Upamecano stretches to make an important tackle on Tella in the Bayern area.
9 min Laimer finds Olise in a bit of space on the right. He cuts inside, past one defender, and is strongly tackled just inside the penalty area. Olise looks to the referee but it looked like a fair challenge. We haven’t seen a replay though.
8 min The match still hasn’t settled down. Bayern look happy to play at a slow pace for now and try to quieten the crowd.
5 min Tella looks pleadingly at the assistant referee after a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Upamecano on the right wing. Nothing doing.
4 min No openings to report. Leverkusen have made a fast start, particularly without the ball.
1 min Bayern, in their cream change strip, kick off from right to left as we watch.
“Hi Rob,” begins Joe Pearson. “Has anyone ever failed up better than Vincent Kompany?”
You’re not into politics, are you?
A Bayern win tonight would be a devastating blow to Leverkusen – and to the banter industry, as it would effectively clinch the first major trophy of Harry Kane’s career. He has 29 goals from 29 games in all competitions.
A quick reminder of the teams
Bayer Leverkusen (possible 4-2-3-1) Hradecky; Mukiele, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Xhaka, Palacios; Frimpong, Wirtz, Grimaldo; Tella.
Substitutes: Kovar, Arthur, Andrich, Aleix Garcia, Buendia, Hofmann, Schick, Adil, Boniface.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Ito; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane.
Substitutes: Urbig, Guerreiro, Dier, Stanisic, Boey, Goretzka, Muller, Gnabry, Sane.
“We’ve still not won there since Big Dunc scored in 1992 and Jim McLean was manager!” is the subject of Simon McMahon’s email.
Dundee United have done their bit for Scottish teams in Europe by allowing Celtic to score two first half goals then use the next hour for light training and rest ahead of next week’s Champions League playoff second leg in Munich. Well done United, selfless. I doubt Leverkusen will be as helpful to Bayern…?
You doubt right.
The state of play before kick-off
Team news
Bayer Leverkusen (possible 4-2-3-1) Hradecky; Mukiele, Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Xhaka, Palacios; Frimpong, Wirtz, Grimaldo; Tella.
Substitutes: Kovar, Arthur, Andrich, Aleix Garcia, Buendia, Hofmann, Schick, Adil, Boniface.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Ito; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Coman; Kane.
Substitutes: Urbig, Guerreiro, Dier, Stanisic, Boey, Goretzka, Muller, Gnabry, Sane.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the big Bundesliga game at the BayArena. On 10 February last year, Leverkusen took a decisive step towards their first league title by beating Bayern 3-0; this year they probably need a win to stay in the title race.
Bayern are eight points clear and have been relentless since the start of the season. Leverkusen’s problems has been draws rather than defeats. Like Bayern they’ve been beaten only once but they’ve drawn seven of their 21 games, including two in the last three.
Kick off 5.30pm.
