Bayern Munich continued their strong Bundesliga campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against VfL Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday.
Michael Olise proved to be the difference for the newly crowned champions after scoring a brilliant second-half goal to hand Vincent Kompany’s side their 27th league victory of the season.
Despite the defeat, Wolfsburg produced an impressive performance and created several dangerous chances throughout the match as they continued battling to avoid relegation.
The hosts started brightly and nearly grabbed an early lead inside seven minutes when Vinicius Souza rose highest inside the box, but Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig reacted brilliantly to make a point-blank save.
Wolfsburg continued to trouble Bayern during the opening stages with Adam Daghim and Patrick Wimmer causing problems on quick transitions.
Bayern slowly grew into the contest and almost produced a spectacular opener in the 19th minute when Tom Bischof rattled the crossbar with a powerful long-range strike from 25 yards.
The visitors thought they had a golden opportunity to take the lead midway through the first half after Michael Olise was brought down inside the penalty area. Following a VAR review, the referee awarded Bayern a penalty.
However, Harry Kane wasted the chance after curling his spot-kick wide of the post in the 36th minute.
Wolfsburg responded strongly and nearly punished Bayern moments later when Denis Vavro forced Urbig into another excellent save before the goalkeeper reacted quickly again to deny Christian Eriksen from the rebound.
The first half ended goalless despite both teams creating numerous opportunities in an open and entertaining encounter.
Bayern returned from the break with greater urgency and eventually found the breakthrough in the 56th minute through an outstanding moment of quality from Olise.
The French winger collected the ball on the right flank before cutting inside onto his left foot and curling a magnificent strike that clipped the underside of the crossbar before flying into the net.
The goal was Olise’s 15th in the Bundesliga this season and continued his impressive scoring run after netting in three consecutive league matches.
Bayern pushed for a second goal after taking the lead, with Kane and Jamal Musiala both going close as Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara produced several important saves to keep the hosts in the game.
Despite struggling to create clear chances in the second half, Wolfsburg nearly snatched a dramatic equaliser in the closing stages.
Substitute Kento Shiogai produced an excellent run before squaring the ball to Mattias Svanberg, who somehow struck the base of the post from close range in the 89th minute.
The miss summed up Wolfsburg’s frustrating evening as Bayern held firm during stoppage time to secure all three points.
The result leaves Wolfsburg sitting 16th in the Bundesliga table, only ahead of FC St. Pauli on goal difference as the relegation battle intensifies heading into the final stages of the season.
