Javi Martinez got the only goal as Bayern Munich piled the pressure onto Borussia Dortmund with victory over Hertha Berlin.
2018/2019 Bundesliga
1-0
Match Events
11' OFFSIDE! Selke's goal disallowed
GOAL RULED OUT! Hertha have the ball in the back of the net early on, after a fine run and finish by Selke. The striker is fed in behind the Bayern defence, he rounds Neuer and then slides the ball into the goal. However, the linesman has his flag up for offside straight away, he made his run slightly too early, just straying into an offside position.
15' CLOSE! Kimmich's shot wide out
CLOSE! Kimmich with a terrific driving run at the Hertha defence, after the referee allowed play to continue despite Lewandowski being caught late on the touchline. The right-back drove forwards and fired a low shot towards the far post, but it goes narrowly wide.
28' What a clearance from Boateng!
Good chance! Hertha with a strong attack and they go close to scoring! Selke dribbles into the box, gets the ball past Neuer and then tries to square the ball across the six yard box for a teammate, but Boateng was in the right place to cut out the cross and clear the danger.
51' Yellow Card! Kimmich booked
Good chance! Hertha with a strong attack and they go close to scoring! Selke dribbles into the box, gets the ball past Neuer and then tries to square the ball across the six yard box for a teammate, but Boateng was in the right place to cut out the cross and clear the danger.
56' CHANCE! Selke's shot wide out
CLOSE! Hertha go so close to taking the lead, it's a superb stop on the line by Kimmich to deny Selke the opening goal of the game! Selke fired a low shot across goal towards the far post, which had Neuer between, but Kimmich raced back and got the slightest of touches on the ball, to stop it from going over the line and instead conceded a corner.
62'GOAL! Bayern 1-0 Hertha BSC (Martinez)
GOOOAAALLL! Bayern finally manage to take the lead, Martinez with the goal, it's 1-0! James whipped the ball into the box from a corner and the midfielder managed to get to the ball just before Jarstein and powered the ball into the bottom corner. A huge sense of relief for Bayern, just as Hertha had been threatening at the other end.
69' INJURY! Coman is replaced by Muller
Coman has a problem here, the left-winger is receiving treatment on the pitch from the medical staff and it looks like he might have to come off, after playing less than 10 minutes.
84'Red Card! Rekik sent off
RED CARD! Rekik is shown a straight red card after his challenge on Lewandowski. The pair went up for the ball, the defender brought the striker down and as Lewandowski lands, his feet strike Rekik. However, the Hertha defender then gets up lashes out at the striker, catching the striker in the face who goes down to the ground. There can't be too many complaints about that decision.
Match Report
Bayern Munich moved level on points with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund as they defeated Hertha Berlin 1-0 at the Allianz Arena.
With Dortmund not in action against Bayer Leverkusen until Sunday, the champions seized the opportunity to pile pressure onto their rivals despite a largely poor performance against Hertha.
The visitors carried the greater threat before Javi Martinez nodded Bayern in front just after the hour, settling nerves among the home supporters.
The final 30 minutes were still not wholly convincing, however, and long-suffering Bayern winger Kingsley Coman was dealt another injury blow, disappearing down the tunnel nine minutes after arriving from the bench.
A frustrating afternoon for a Hertha side who would have been good value for at least a point ended with Karim Rekik sent off as he lashed out at Robert Lewandowski off the ball.
Player Ratings
Line-ups
Bayern XI: Ribéry, M. Neuer, J.Martínez, J. Boateng, Alaba, R. Lewandowski, J. Rodríguez, N. Süle, L. Goretzka, Gnabry, J. Kimmich
Subs: Rafinha, Sven Ulreich, T. Müller, Thiago Alcântara, Coman, R.Sanches, Alphonso Davies
Hertha BSC XI: Kalou, R. Jarstein, Lustenberger, Rekik, Selke, N.Stark, Lazaro, Duda, M. Grujić, M. Mittelstädt, A. Maier
Subs: Skjelbred, T. Kraft, Darida, L.Klünter, F. Baak, P. Dárdai, D. Jastrzembski