Bayern’s efforts to make a strong start following their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in midweek did not go well when Hountondji slotted the ball past Manuel Neuer in the sixth minute after Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer were caught in possession. Not long after the goalscorer limped off injured, Lennart Karl’s curling effort struck the outside of the post and then Harry Kane scuffed a shot wide when in a good position. Tom Bischof was the next player to see his effort come back off the woodwork from his 20-yard deflected strike as the hosts searched for an equaliser. But the pressure told a minute before the break when Diaz somehow managed to flick the ball to Guerreiro, despite falling to the ground, and the Portugal international fired in from eight yards out. Bayern brought on Michael Olise, Josip Stanisic, Serge Gnabry, and Leon Goretzka in the second half but for all their dominance, they couldn’t find a way through the stubborn visitors. Top scorer Kane was inches away from giving Bayern the lead when his toe-poked shot found its way through a crowd of bodies but the post denied Bayern again. Just when it looked like St. Pauli would earn a hard-fought point, summer signing Diaz popped up in the 93rd minute with a brilliantly timed header following a delightful cross from Kimmich. To rub more salt into the away team’s wound, substitute Jackson hit the visitors on the counter in the 97th minute as Bayern extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
