Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich wears an armlet reading Black Lives Matter during the Bundesliga match against Leverkusen at BayArena on 6 June 2020 (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Bundesliga players wore black armbands and took the knee in displays
of support for the Black Lives Matter protests on Saturday, as Bayern
Munich kept title rivals Borussia Dortmund at bay with a ninth
successive win.
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski scored his 30th
league goal of the season as Bayern came from behind to claim a 4-2
victory over Bayer Leverkusen, a win which kept them seven points ahead
of second-placed Dortmund, who beat Hertha Berlin 1-0.
After Lucas
Alario secured an early lead for the home side, Bayern struck twice in
quick succession just before half-time to turn the game in their favour
after Kingsley Coman’s equaliser.
A mistake from Moussa Diaby
allowed Coman to curl in the equaliser, before a fizzing shot from Leon
Goretzka and an elegant lob from Serge Gnabry saw Bayern take a two-goal
lead into the break.
“We didn’t start well, but I think it’s
something which really distinguishes us at the moment, that we are able
to fight our way back into games,” Goretzka told Sky.
Lewandowski
sealed the win in the second half, equalling his most prolific
Bundesliga season, although Leverkusen teenager Florian Wirtz struck
late on to become the Bundesliga’s youngest-ever scorer at just 17 years
and 34 days.
“We already knew he was a huge talent,” said
Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz of the teenager, who beat the record set by
Nuri Sahin for Borussia Dortmund in November 2005 by 48 days.
As
thousands of protesters assembled in city centres across Germany, both
of the country’s top two clubs also used Saturday’s games to make
statements against police brutality and racism.
Dortmund players
warmed up in T-shirts bearing messages of solidarity such as “no
justice, no peace”, before taking the knee in the centre circle with
their Hertha colleagues for a moment’s silence before kick-off.
Bayern players, meanwhile, wore black “Black Lives Matter” armbands during their rampant win over Leverkusen.
“As
players, we always have the same message – we are tolerant, we are
open, we are open to the world,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Sky.
Can keeps Dortmund hopes alive?
Dortmund battled to a 1-0 home win over Hertha thanks to a second-half strike from Emre Can.
England
winger Jadon Sancho, who was among the first Bundesliga players to lend
his voice to the protests last weekend, missed from close range just
after the break before setting up Can with a deft chip over the back
line on 57 minutes.
A late equaliser from Christian Strohdiek saw bottom-of-the-table Paderborn snatch a 1-1 draw away to RB Leipzig.
Timo
Werner set up Patrik Schick on 27 minutes to give Leipzig the lead, but
they were forced to defend it with 10 men after Dayot Upamecano was
booked twice in the first half.
Strohdiek’s last-minute strike
gave Paderborn their fourth draw in five games, though Steffen
Baumgart’s side remain eight points off Fortuna Duesseldorf, who occupy
the relegation play-off place.
Duesseldorf themselves missed the
chance to move towards safety, as they battled to a dramatic 2-2 draw
against 10-man Hoffenheim.
A headed opener from Rouwen Hennings and a red card for Hoffenheim’s Benjamin Huebner put the home side in pole position.
However,
the visitors struck back with goals from Munas Dabbur and Steven Zuber
before Hennings saved a point with a late penalty.
Uwe Roesler’s
side remain three points adrift of safety in the relegation play-off
place, after goals from Moussa Niakhate and Pierre Kunde Malong gave
fellow strugglers Mainz a rare win over local rivals Eintracht
Frankfurt.
Having sealed a crucial win with his 77th-minute
strike, Cameroon international Kunde also joined the protests, taking a
knee in place of a celebration.
“I think it’s good. It isn’t a
political statement, it’s just a position, and these are values that we
have. For me, there is no other possible position to take,” said Mainz
sporting director Rouven Schroeder.
