Bayern edge Bremen 1-0 to stay atop Bundesliga standings

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BERLIN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Niklas Sule's goal secured Bayern Munich a narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Werder Bremen at the 30th round of Bundesliga on Saturday.

It was a tough piece of work for the "Bavarians" as Werder Bremen's goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka staged a strong performance between the posts to beware his team of a higher defeat on the road.

The "Green-Whites" presented a well-positioned defence to give the hosts a hard time in the opening period.

Bayern eventually produced their first chance with 20 minutes played as Thomas Muller's shot on target forced Pavlenka into action.

Bremen's goalkeeper remained in the thick of things, as he was on guard six minutes later to deny Serge Gnabry from very close range.

After the restart, Bayern kept Bremen's defence busy as Robert Lewandowski tried to beat Pavlenka inside the box.

Bremen were unable to hold the pace and things went from bad to worse in the 58th minute when Milos Veljkovic received his marching orders after booking his second yellow card for repeated foul play.

The host remained on the front foot but Muller's header missed the target from promising position in the 70th minute.

Niko Kovac's men got rewarded for their efforts five minutes later when Niklas Sule unleashed a deflected shot from the edge of the box to catch Pavlenka on the wrong foot.

The German record champions pressed for second goal but they lacked in accuracy.

"The dismissal made things easier for us. We left too many chances unused but we wrapped up a deserved victory. We are delighted to remain the front runners for now," Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac said.

With the result, Bayern stretch their lead atop the table to four points for the moment. Werder Bremen, who suffered their first loss in 2019, slipped to the 8th position.

Elsewhere, Augsburg showed no mercy with bottom side Stuttgart, whitewashing the "VfB" 6-0 to increase the latter's relegation worries.

Bayer Leverkusen secured a 2-0 win over last place Nuremberg as goals from Lucas Alario and Kevin Volland lift the "Werkself" closer to the international places. Mainz overcame Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-1 to inflict the newly promoted side the second loss in a row. Enditem

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