3 things we learned as Bayern Munich demolished RB Leipzig in 3-0 win

What many expected to be a close, exciting match wound up being a one-sided blowout instead, with Bayern Munich dominating the first half while RB Leipzig went down to 10 men half an hour in. The match ended 3-0 in favor of Bayern at the Allianz Arena, putting the Bavarians in first place heading into the Bundesliga’s winter break, and leaving upstart Leipzig with a lot more questions to answer than they wanted.

Bayern came out of the gate swinging hard and fast, throwing Leipzig off balance and establishing control of the match early. The first good scoring chance of the game would actually fall to the guests, but such opportunities would prove rare indeed as the game unfolded — and Bayern Munich would have many, many more.

The hosts struck first, with Thiago Alcantara scoring an opportunistic goal off a rebound in the 17th minute after a delightful series of moves from Bayern to create the chance. Less than 10 minutes later, Thiago was the provider, setting up Xabi Alonso after exploiting a bad mistake by Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita. Alonso’s finish was smooth from the right side of the penalty area, and Bayern had a commanding lead before the match was even half an hour gone.

Five minutes later, the match effectively ended for Leipzig — after the visitors had a shot blocked, Bayern started to break away on the counter when midfielder Emil Forsberg committed a foul to break it up, scything down Philipp Lahm from behind. After considering the foul and consulting with his assistant, referee Felix Zwayer put away the yellow card he had initially pulled out for the foul and instead showed Forsberg a straight red card, putting Leipzig down a man and leaving them in a big, big hole.

Bayern exploited that advantage ruthlessly, attacking with aggression and purpose throughout the rest of the half. That paid dividends just before the break, with a long ball to Douglas Costa at the edge of the penalty area drawing out Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. For some reason, Gulacsi clattered Costa to the ground, handing Bayern a penalty that Robert Lewandowski made no mistake in converting.

With that 3-0 lead in hand, Bayern pretty well cruised through the second half, concentrating more on keeping Leipzig from generating any real danger, something they struggled to do even without considering the fact that they were down a man. Bayern still got forward when opportunities presented themselves, but with the game already won and the Bavarians not wanting to risk injuries or suspensions heading into the winter break, they didn’t push the matter too hard.

In the end, Bayern made the exact statement that they needed to coming into this match: they are still the dominant force in the Bundesliga, and if Leipzig want to really challenge them — well, they still have a lot of work left to do.

Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Javi Martinez, Mats Hummels, David Alaba (Juan Bernat 67’); Arturo Vidal (Joshua Kimmich 74’), Xabi Alonso; Arjen Robben (Franck Ribery 46’), Thiago Alcantara, Douglas Costa; Robert Lewandowski

Goals: Alcantara (17’), Alonso (25’), Lewandowski (pen. 45’)

RB Leipzig: Peter Gulacsi; Bernardo, Stefan Ilsanker, Willi Orban, Marcel Halstenberg; Naby Keita (Dominik Kaiser 46’), Diego Demme; Marcel Sabitzer (Oliver Burke 82’), Emil Forsberg (red 30’); Timo Werner (Davie Selke 59’), Yussuf Poulsen

Goals: None

The biggest thing that RB Leipzig had to do to get something out of this match was to keep playing the same way they had all season. That frenetic, entertaining style that utilized their players’ sky-high work rates to great success is what put them in a position where this was such a huge match — and then they largely abandoned that style, playing a bit more conservatively and decidedly less effectively because of it.

Sure, everything in front of him went wrong for much of the game, but you could easily argue that Leipzig’s man in goal was their weakest link of the day. Gulacsi was constantly out of position and doing a poor job of reading and reacting to the play in front of him, which stacked on top of his team making numerous defensive mistakes made it far too easy for Bayern to score goals. It’s not even just about the penalty that he gave up — though that was stupid and needless — it’s about everything he did before that moment that cost his team. If Leipzig want to really become an elite team in the Bundesliga for more than just this year, getting an actual high-quality goalkeeper is an absolute must because Gulacsi simply doesn’t fit the bill.

After weeks of questions and doubts and mounting pressure, Bayern came out and played an awful lot like the Bayern Munich of old. Carlo Ancelotti’s team looked like the far superior one and once they established themselves in the match, they didn’t allow Leipzig any room for error. And when Leipzig made mistakes, they punished them ruthlessly and without mercy. That’s something we haven’t seen nearly as much of from Bayern over the last couple of months, and their fans will be relieved to see that kind of edge back in their team.