A stunning long-range strike from Jamal Musiala lifted Bayern Munich to a six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory over St. Pauli on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund endured another defeat.
Newly promoted St. Pauli battled valiantly against Bayern, aiming to avoid a repeat of the 8-1 thrashing from the last meeting at their home ground. Musiala, who also scored the winner in Bayern’s 1-0 victory over Benfica on Wednesday, won the ball in midfield, drove forward, and unleashed a shot from nearly 30 meters out, which bounced in off the crossbar.
The 21-year-old, returning from a hip injury, has now netted five goals in his last four games.
Speaking to Sky Germany, Musiala admitted he “didn’t know” he could score from such range, adding, “I’ve practiced shooting from distance in training… but not from that far! I’m happy it went in today”. It marked his first goal from outside the box this season as he continues to refine his skills.
With 26 points, Bayern now lead the Bundesliga by six, although RB Leipzig could reduce the gap to three points if they win their home game against Borussia Moenchengladbach later in the day.
In contrast, an injury-ravaged Dortmund suffered a 3-1 defeat to Mainz, with Emre Can sent off in the 27th minute for a high tackle on Lee Jae-sung. Typically a midfielder, Can was filling in at central defense due to Dortmund’s injury troubles. His substitute, fellow midfielder, Felix Nmecha, was responsible for losing his marker just nine minutes later, allowing Lee to score with a header.
Dortmund briefly equalized when Serhou Guirassy won and converted a penalty, but Mainz regained the lead before halftime as Jonathan Burkardt hammered in a close-range pass from Danny da Costa. Paul Nebel added a third goal early in the second half, securing Mainz’s first home win of the season.
Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, are struggling this year, especially on the road, with six consecutive away losses in all competitions.
In other action, Bayer Leverkusen’s title defense continued to falter with a 1-1 draw at bottom-placed Bochum, who scored a late equalizer in the final minute.
