Lewan, Heynckes miss records as Bayern held

BERLIN－Robert Lewandowski and Jupp Heynckes both missed out on records as runaway Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich was held to a frustrating scoreless draw at home by Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Despite the disappointing result, Bayern moved 20 points clear in the standings as second-place Borussia Dortmund hosts Augsburg on Monday.

After thrashing 10-man Besiktas 5-0 at home in the last 16, first leg, of the Champions League on Tuesday, Hertha made Bayern work for its point.

It was the first time Bayern has failed to score at home in the Bundesliga since May 2015.

Its run of 14 straight wins in all competitions came to an end in only the second time it has dropped league points this season at Allianz Arena.

"We can live with the point; I cannot blame my team at all," said Heynckes. "We had a good attitude.

"We were very involved and, especially in the first half, created some good chances. But it was hard against a team that defended cleverly.

"We wasted a lot of chances, which is unusual, but you have days like these."

It was Bayern's first league draw since October－2-2 against Hertha in Berlin－which also followed a Champions League game, its 3-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain that cost Carlo Ancelotti his job as head coach.

Despite nearly four times as many chances－19 shots on goal to Hertha's five－Bayern could not break through.

Lewandowski, making his 250th Bundesliga appearance, missed the outright record of scoring in 12 consecutive home league games.

He now shares the league record of 11 with Bayern legends Gerd Mueller and current head coach Heynckes.

The 72-year-old Heynckes also missed the chance to become the first Bayern boss to claim 15 straight wins in all competitions.

Lewandowski, who accounted for 10 of Bayern's chances, was thwarted by Hertha's goalkeeper Rune Jarstein and the Berlin defense, which ensured he did not add to his 29 goals in all competitions.

"We did everything very well and made the spaces tight. Hertha Berlin was an unpleasant opponent and played very well," said Berlin coach Pal Dardai.

Kingsley Coman played the last 10 minutes with an ankle injury he sustained after Bayern had used up their three replacements.

"He went over, but the ligaments are stable," said Heynckes.

"It was, of course, an additional handicap for us, but our doctor says that it's not a particularly bad injury in his view."

Third-place Eintracht Frankfurt missed the chance to move into second with a 1-0 loss at resurgent VfB Stuttgart.

Winger Erik Thommy scored his first goal for Stuttgart after only 13 minutes to lift his team to 12th－seven points from relegation.

It was Stuttgart's third straight win under new coach Tayfun Korkut.

AFP