Bayern wins without Kompany

In his first match absent due to health issues, Belgian manager Vincent Kompany was sidelined, and Bayern Munich defeated host Freiburg 3-1 in the final match of the seventh round of the German Bundesliga. The Bavarian side played their first game without Kompany, who will be out for several weeks. In his absence, Englishman Aaron Danks led the team against Freiburg and will remain in charge on an interim basis until Kompany’s return, missing several important matches, most notably against Borussia Dortmund in the “Der Klassiker” of the Bundesliga, and the Spanish club Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, at least. Bayern had stumbled three times in their last four matches (three draws across all competitions), but they returned to the path of victory thanks to goals from Frenchmen Dayot Upamecano (16th minute) and Michael Olise (90+5th minute), and Serge Gnabry (42nd minute), without being affected by Tom Bischof’s own goal (82nd minute). The Bavarian giant moved to the top of the table with 17 points, ahead of Dortmund on goal difference. Bayer Leverkusen’s winning streak came to an end at the home of host Hoffenheim, after falling 3-0. Leverkusen had secured six consecutive victories across all competitions, within a run of eight matches without defeat since August 29. However, the team managed by Spanish coach Carles Martínez fell to goals from Croatian substitute Andrej Kramaric from a penalty (79th minute), Austrian Alexander Prass (89th minute), who was sent off two minutes later, and another substitute, Max Morstadt (90+5th minute).