Raphael Guerreiro edged Bayern Munich to a narrow victory over Union Berlin to take the champions to within four points of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
On a night when on-loan Tottenham defender Eric Dier made his Bayern debut as a half-time substitute and England skipper Harry Kane saw a 23rd league goal of the campaign chalked off, Union coach Nenad Bjelica was sent to the stands after appearing to push Leroy Sane in the face, an offence which is certain to result in significant disciplinary action.
A 1-0 victory was the bare minimum in the wake of Saturday’s home defeat by Werder Bremen with head coach Thomas Tuchel, who it was announced before kick-off has abandoned his pursuit of Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier, reportedly under pressure after a testing run.
It took a double save by Union keeper Frederik Ronnow to keep the sides level when he first repelled Matthijs de Ligt’s header and then Dayot Upamecano’s follow-up from Joshua Kimmich’s sixth-minute corner.
Kingsley Coman saw an 11th-minute drive turned away and Konrad Laimer dragged another wide of the far post before De Ligt missed the target with another header from a corner as the home side pressed for an opener.
With Jamal Musiala and Sane prominent, Bayern probed away and Coman flicked just off target from a Guerreiro cross before Leon Goretzka curled another attempt over.
Kimmich shot tamely at Ronnow and Guerreiro fired another well wide with Union continuing to frustrate the hosts, although the visitors mounted a rare attack and Janik Haberer blazed over from distance after Robin Gosens had laid off Benedict Hollerbach’s cross.
Worryingly for Tuchel, Upamecano pulled up clutching his hamstring as he pursued Hollerbach, although the central defender managed to complete the half after treatment.
The sides headed for the dressing rooms – to the clear displeasure of some of the locals at Allianz Arena, with the deadlock unbroken – but with both Sane and Musiala having gone close in stoppage time.
Dier belatedly replaced Upamecano at the break and the jeers turned to cheers within seconds when, after Kane’s shot had thundered back off the post, Guerreiro forced the ball past Ronnow at the second attempt to ease the tension inside the stadium.
Kane thought he had extended his side’s lead when he dispatched Sane’s 55th-minute cross, but his effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
For all the home side’s dominance, Union remained in the game as long as only one goal separated the teams, and that jeopardy was highlighted when Kevin Behrens appeared to be tripped inside the box, but not in the opinion of the VAR official.
Tempers frayed on the sideline with 74 minutes gone when Bjelica raised a hand to Sane as the pair wrestled for the ball and received a red card for his actions.
Ronnow had to dive full-length to keep out Goretzka’s 81st-minute header, but the final whistle left many questions unanswered for Tuchel.
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
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