Union coach sees red as Bayern gets back to winning ways

MUNICH, Germany — Raphael Guerreiro scored the only goal as Bayern Munich beat Union Berlin 1-0 at home on Wednesday, with the visiting coach sent to the stands for grabbing Leroy Sane's face.

With Bayern in front after Guerreiro's second-half strike, Union striker Kevin Behrens was brought to the ground in the penalty box by a home defender with 20 minutes remaining.

The Union players and staff became increasingly incensed as VAR seemingly decided not to intervene, with visiting manager Nenad Bjelica grabbing Sane's face and pushing the winger as he tried to take a throw in minutes later.

Bjelica saw straight red and was sent to the stands, arguing with home fans as he was escorted by stewards, while Sane received a yellow card for retaliating.

"I don't want to say anything about it, it would be dumb to throw oil on the fire, but it doesn't look good," Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel told Sky after the game.

Bayern held on as Union sought a late equalizer, but the tension of the home side was clear, with the German champion sitting in the unfamiliar second spot, four points behind Bayer Leverkusen.

Bjelica told Sky that Sane "came and provoked me", but said, "what I did, shouldn't be tolerated. I understand the red card."

Watching a replay of the penalty, Bjelica told Sky, "I've seen those given, but of course it's not easy to give a penalty here in front of 70,000 Bayern fans."

The win may, however, be costly for the home side, who lost Dayot Upamecano to a hamstring injury, bringing former Spurs defender Eric Dier onto the pitch for the first time in Bayern colors.

With Kim Min-jae on Asian Cup duty, Matthijs de Ligt could be Bayern's only fit centerback should Upamecano fail to return for Saturday's clash with Augsburg.

"It's bad," Tuchel told Sky. "In two days we'll be sitting on the bus to Augsburg. It could be a hamstring tear."

Bayern lost 1-0 at home to Werder Bremen on Sunday, failing to score a goal for the first time in four years.

Bayern last lost two league matches at home in 2001, highlighting the historical dominance of Germany's most successful club.

Union, having hit the heights of Champions League qualification last campaign, traveled to Munich stuck in the middle of a relegation battle, sitting one place and three points clear of the drop in Wednesday's rescheduled fixture.

Upamecano failed to return after half-time, bringing Dier on for his Bayern debut. The England international said he was "mentally ready to play whenever I'm needed".

"It's a very proud moment to make my debut for the club, hopefully I can continue to help the team."

Having said on Tuesday his side was "well below expectations" in Sunday's loss to Bremen, Bayern manager Tuchel's half-time speech did the trick, Guerreiro scoring just a minute after the break.

Harry Kane hit the woodwork, but the ball fell at the feet of the Portuguese, who booted in the opener.

Kane looked to have scored his 23rd goal in just his 18th league match shortly after Guerreiro's opener, but VAR found Sane offside in the build-up.

Bayern's goal forced Union to push forward and Behrens hit the turf under heavy attention from the home defense on the counter, leading to Bjelica's clash with Sane.

The tension continued in the dying stages, with the referee handing out four yellow cards in injury time, including one for England captain Kane.

AFP