SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York — Bayern Munich forward Leroy Sane scored a late equaliser to help the German Bundesliga champions claim a 1-1 draw at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach and maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign after it came under serious threat.
Sane curled in his effort into the bottom corner in the 83rd minute as Bayern were rewarded for their relentless pursuit of a leveller after squandering several chances and being kept at bay by the impressive Yann Sommer in the Gladbach goal.
Earlier, Moenchengladbach went ahead in the 43rd minute when striker Marcus Thuram slid the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for his sixth goal in all competitions but Bayern had themselves to blame with Dayot Upamecano failing to deal with a long ball.
Bayern were a constant threat before the opener and Sane wasted two chances before new signing Sadio Mane had two goals chalked off for offside after he twice tapped in from close range, much to the frustration of the home fans.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side came into the clash on the back of a 7-0 hammering of VfL Bochum which made it three wins in their opening three games of the campaign but they struggled at times to find a way past Gladbach before Sane struck.
“We had 35 shots on goal, that’s not a bad number,” said Nagelsmann according to Reuters. “I’m annoyed because we played well… the only thing I can blame my team for is not converting our chances.”
“Despite the result, I actually think this was our best game so far this season.”
Sommer produced a brilliant double block to keep a Mane shot out following a quick counter following the restart and produced a string of saves to deny Sane, Benjamin Pavard, Thomas Mueller, and Serge Gnabry to earn his team a point.
The Swiss international set a new single-game Bundesliga record with 19 saves, bettering Alexander Schwolow’s previous mark of 14 for Hertha Berlin against the same opposition in January this year.
“It takes a lot for something like this to happen. As a goalkeeper, you need to have a good day,” said Sommer. “Bayern are really in an unbelievable form and put on a lot of pressure.”
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