58′ Bayern substitution. Alaba comes on for the ineffectual Choupo-Moting. We’ll see how Bayern change their shape.
56′ Bayern are definitely playing with greater purpose now but Union are still getting the better chances. Sane fires wide to the left first, then Kruse volleys wide from the left of the box from Bulter’s promising cross.
55′ Stanisic heads high and wide at the near post. The 21-year-old defender is frustrated he didn’t at least get that on target.
54′ Kimmich’s corner reaches no one initially but Bayern salvage it. Luthe punches away Boateng’s effort from the left of the box. Sane soon wins another corner for Bayern.
53′ Musiala peels away from his marker and feeds Choupo-Moting who promptly loses the ball. Bayern quickly win it back and win a corner down their right.
51′ Now Choupo-Moting strays offside. There’s a sloppiness in both teams’ attacking play which isn’t conducive to a thrilling match as yet.
49′ The ongoing tussle between Musa and Martinez is an interesting one. Musa leaves the Spaniard on the turf as the two compete for a loose ball. Musa’s offside anyway.
47′ Bulter has a pop from outside the box and it misses wide to the left. Union will no doubt play with as much commitment in this half as they did in the first.
L. Sané
K. Coman
46′ Here’s that Bayern change. Sane is on for Coman who limped off the pitch at the end of the first half. It appears the Frenchman couldn’t shake off the niggle he picked up earlier.
45′ Bayern get the second half started. The hosts have made a change at half-time with Coman unable to continue.
Musiala’s been at the heart of Bayern’s play so far, racking up three of Bayern’s seven shots. The 18-year-old needs a little more support from the players around him though. Bayern are definitely missing Robert Lewandowski. Can Bayern step up a gear in the second half, or will they preserve their energy with next week’s second leg against PSG in mind?
Bayern are being frustrated by visitors Union. The champions have controlled the first 45 minutes of this game for the most part but haven’t been able to break Union down. Union have had the best chance of the match so far when Bulter nodded a free header straight at Neuer.
45′ + 1′ HALF-TIME: BAYERN MUNICH 0-0 UNION BERLIN
45′ + 1′ Bayern close down Musa’s speculative shot from way out. That’ll be all for now.
45′ There’ll be one added minute in this half. Kimmich slides in on the edge of Union’s box and concedes a silly free-kick.
44′ Union will be pleased with their first-half performance as we approach half-time. Bayern have had plenty of the ball but are going nowhere fast.
42′ Musiala’s pass in the final third is poor and Promel intercepts it. Union can’t come up with anything on the break but they’re keeping Bayern at bay for now.
41′ Bayern press the issue as Muller’s shot in the box is blocked. The hosts unnerve Luthe enough for him to venture out of his goal to push a cross away from the head of Musiala.
40′ Trimmel goes down holding his face as Coman holds him off while trying to cut inside. The referee is more sympathetic than Flick is on the touchline and gives Union the free-kick.
38′ The offside flag goes up against Musa. Musiala nearly latches onto a dink over the top of Union’s defence. Luthe gets there first.
37′ Bayern remain dangerous. Muller wriggles down the right-hand channel and Luthe drops low to grab his attempted cross.
36′ Musa can’t quite control Trimmel’s whipped ball in and Neuer claims the Croatian striker’s header.
35′ Musa hustles hard to reach a pass down the line and hook it across the area for Union to keep. Union haven’t created much yet but they’ve looked fairly comfortable.
33′ Coman trots back onto the field of play. Flick will be relieved that Bayern don’t have to add another player to their already extensive injury list.
32′ Musiala is off-target from outside the box following the corner. Coman is being treated off the pitch for the time being.
31′ Stanisic helps out Dantas and Coman down Bayern’s left and forces a Bayern corner. Coman immediately signals for treatment. It’s a strange one as all the Frenchman did was perform a few stepovers before playing Stanisic in.
30′ Coman fizzes a horizontal pass outside Union’s box but it’s unsuccessful in finding a team-mate in red. Luthe eventually comes away with the ball.
29′ Bayern try to work the ball up the pitch but are forced to pass all the way back to Neuer. Union are doing a fantastic job of keeping their shape when out of possession.
27′ Trimmel heads away Sarr’s delivery from the Bayern right despite Coman lurking.
25′ Sarr’s penalised for leading with his arm in an aerial challenge with Kruse. Kruse is understandably unhappy.
23′ Endo carries the ball forward and looks for a team-mate. The Japanese winger hangs up a cross for his counterpart Bulter at the far post but Bulter can only head straight at Neuer! That was a great opportunity for Union.
22′ Musiala picks up possession on the edge of Union’s box and drags a shot just wide of the left-hand post. Bayern are starting to click.
20′ Union are doing well to disrupt Bayern’s rhythm by committing lots of niggly fouls. They’ve committed five so far.
18′ Union survive the Bayern corner with Bayern winning two more corners before Muller finally heads over from Kimmich’s ball in. Martinez takes a whack in the face from a high foot from Musa. The Spaniard gets the free-kick.
17′ Chance for Bayern! Luthe races out to block Choupo-Moting’s run into the box. The ball rolls out to a Union defender who clears, but it rebounds off a Bayern player and forces Luthe to prevent it from looping into the net! Bayern have a corner.
15′ It looks like Union might find plenty of joy by attacking Bayern’s flanks. Bayern have looked uncomfortable with the visitors’ pace so far.
14′ Endo takes on Sarr and has the support of Lenz on the overlap. Kimmich hooks away Lenz’s cross with an innovative scorpion kick.
13′ Trimmel has space down the right and rolls a delightful ball across the face of goal. Union can’t keep it in on the opposite side though.
12′ Sarr’s shot from the corner is too ambitious. It’s been an engaging start to the game.
11′ Bayern only half-clear the throw-in and Union keep the pressure on. Sarr cuts out a one-two by the visitors to get forward. He gives the ball to Choupo-Moting whose shot cannons off Knoche for a corner.
9′ Union look very up for this. Promel darts down the left and tries to beat Boateng who pokes the ball out for a Union throw-in.
7′ Kimmich gets caught in possession and Union spring forward on the counter. Boateng steps out of the backline to intercept and stop the attack.
6′ Bayern see away the corner. That’s good early intent from Union who don’t look cowed by their illustrious hosts. Nor should they be.
5′ Endo bursts down the Union left and whips a low cross into the Bayern penalty area. Martinez goes safety first and puts it out of play for a Union corner.
3′ The match starts slowly as the two teams figure each other out. Musiala fires over from a difficult angle on the right. Sarr wins a free-kick in his own half as he’s closed down too eagerly by Endo.
1′ The referee blows the whistle and this game gets under way!
The two sides are out on the pitch at the empty Allianz Arena. Bayern are in their usual all-red home kit. Union are in their all-white away garb.
Union haven’t won any of their three Bundesliga games against Bayern to date, drawing one and losing two. However, Bayern have only scored five goals against them in those three meetings, a poor return by Bayern’s high standards. This could be a tricky game for the hosts. Will Bayern bounce back from their midweek defeat or will Union compound their misery here?
Injury-hit Bayern make six changes from their 3-2 loss to PSG in the Champions League midweek. Their 11 has a sprinkling of youth with Stanisic, Dantas and Musiala all starting. There are three changes to Union’s 11 from their 1-1 draw with rivals Hertha Berlin last time out.
SUBS: Nico Schlotterbeck, Sebastian Griesbeck, Christian Gentner, Cedric Teuchert, Florian Hubner, Marcus Ingvartsen, Joel Pohjanpalo, Julian Ryerson, Loris Karius.
UNION BERLIN (4-2-3-1): Andreas Luthe; Christopher Trimmel (c), Marvin Friedrich, Robin Knoche, Christopher Lenz; Grischa Promel, Robert Andrich; Marius Bulter, Max Kruse, Keita Endo; Petar Musa.
SUBS: Dimitri Oberlin, Tanguy Kouassi, Christopher Scott, Benjamin Pavard, Remy Vita, David Alaba, Leroy Sane, Alexander Nubel.
BAYERN MUNICH (4-2-3-1): Manuel Neuer (c); Josip Stanisic, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, Bouna Sarr; Joshua Kimmich, Tiago Dantas; Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman; Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Bayern’s visitors today Union Berlin remain in the hunt for a top-seven finish and with it European qualification. The side from Kopenick are nine points ahead of where they were at this stage last season, and need just two more to equal their 41-point total from that campaign. A point or three here for Urs Fischer’s team wouldn’t go amiss.
Bayern’s five-game winning run has taken them seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, making them almost certain to end the season as champions once again. While no side has ever blown a lead this big this late in the season, Hansi Flick’s men still need to get the job done between the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
Hello! Welcome to our live text commentary of this Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena, Munich.
D. Alaba
E. Choupo-Moting