A long-range Matthijs de Ligt strike helped keep the wheels of efficiency in motion, as Bayern Munich ascended back to the top of the Bundesliga table courtesy of a 13th straight H2H away win at Stuttgart, keeping themselves on course for an eleventh successive German title.
The form of Borussia Dortmund since the start of the year has blown what was already an absorbing title race wide open, and their victory against RB Leipzig on Friday meant that Bayern needed a win here against struggling Stuttgart to retain their place at the Bundesliga summit.
The first big chance of the game went the way of the Bavarians, however, when Fabian Bredlow produced a fantastic save to keep out Leon Goretzka’s header from point-blank range.
Yet, the unwavering home side would have had the opener themselves, when Konstantinos Mavropanos rose higher than Yann Sommer from a corner, but for the hooked clearance of De Ligt to leave Bayern fans breathing a sigh of relief.
Bayern’s supporters were still in full voice heading into the second half, but the Stuttgart faithful remained hopeful of a strong response on the pitch.
And Bruno Labbadia’s side thought they had snatched a point when Tanguy Coulibaly saw his header float just wide of the post, ensuring that the relieved ‘Rekordmeister’ remain top for another week.
