Bastian Schweinsteiger's 80th minute winner enough to seal all three points to send the record Bundesliga champions within touching distance of their 24th Bundesliga title.
The opening ten minutes were evenly poised. The hosts were being pinned up against the wall by Pal Dardai's side. Dardai’s intent was clear and set up very tight keeping as many as nine men behind the ball when not in possession. It was the visitors who had opening chance of the game, Nico Schulz’s burst down the wing and clipped a lovely cross to the far post to Valentin Stocker but with his outstretched leg he failed to divert his shot on target.
Shortly after the ten-minute mark, it was the hosts who exchanged some pressure of their own. Eighteen-year-old Gianluca Gaudino found himself on the far side and delivered a teasing cross and it was Thomas Müller leapt highest; his glancing header floated just the wrong side of the post.
Bayern were put under further pressure before the half-hour mark. Hertha’s tight and low defensive line made it hard for Pep Guardiola’s side to break through. The Bavarian’s were caught on the break, Fabian Lustenberger sent Salomon Kalou past Bayern’s defence, the Ivorian cut back onto his right foot but he lent back too much and his effort flew into the Südkurve, as chance was wasted by the visitors.
Bayern Munich were finding it hard to break past the well structured side that the visitors had set out. After forty minutes, Guardiola’s side dominated the possession, which, in recent years hasn’t been much of a surprise especially at the Allianz.
At half-time, the sides went in goal-less. Dardai’s side deserved credit frustrating Guardiola’s side and keeping it goal-less a feat many teams had failed to do many times previously in the Bundesliga. Bayern dominated the first half but Die Blau-Weißen kept the emphatic hosts at bay.
After the restart, Hertha were on the front foot. Schulz sprung the offside trap and bared down on goal, he looked certain to score only to be denied by a magnificent save by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern upped their game and the temp as they pushed for the opener. Robert Lewandowski met Thiago Alcantara’s driven corner-kick but the Pole was unbelievably denied by Burchert who reacted quickly to push avert the danger. Moments later, Bayern were denied again but it was by the post. Centre-Back Jerome Boateng picked out Bastian Schweinsteiger who rose above his marker but his header could only rattle the post. But a minute later there was no mistake in the finish, Mitchell Weiser’s brilliant dash down the wing and picked out Schweinsteiger on the penalty spot, he unleashed a superb first time finish and hammered it into the top corner of the Hertha goal to send the Allianz into raptures. It took the hosts eighty minutes to break through the compact Hertha structure,
Bayern stumbled over the line, eventually grabbing all three points thanks to Schweinsteiger but it was Manuel Neuer who secured all three with his crucial saves from Schulz and Stocker in the second period.
