Berlin: Frankfurt held Bayern Munich to a goalless draw to deny the front-runners the 11th win in as many games at the opener of the 11th round in the Bundesliga. The German giants dropped points for the first time this season as Josep Guardiola’s men lacked in ideas to overcome Frankfurt’s bulwark on Friday, Xinhua reported.
Bayern took the reins from the kick-off against the defensively-minded hosts, who kept all their men behind the ball. Despite a 72 percent ball possession in the first-half Bayern failed to find a gap in Frankfurt’s well-positioned defence. Frankfurt goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, however, had to make a save as Arturo Vidal dangerously headed on target in the opening period.
After the restart the visitors from Munich started where they left off as Hradecky was again on guard to deny Douglas Costa from a promising position. Meanwhile, Frankfurt gained a foothold into the game when Alexander Meier and Marc Stendera tested Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern continued to produce the more threatening chances but neither Robert Lewandowski nor Philipp Lahm were able to score the decisive goal on the road. With the result, Frankfurt reaped their fourth draw of the season to climb on the 11th place of the table whereas Bayern’s record-breaking winning run came to an end.
Nonetheless, the Bavarians remain atop the standings with a seven points advantage for the moment. The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Bremen clash with runner-up Dortmund, third-placed Schalke host newly-promoted Ingolstadt, bottom team Augsburg face Mainz, Cologne see struggling Hoffenheim, Berlin meet Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg encounter Leverkusen.
