Ribery at the ready as Bayern cut gap at top to six points

Enfant terrible Franck Ribery, a Bayern stalwart since 2007 and their longest serving player, ensured the German champions have renewed hope of clinching a seventh consecutive Bundesliga title in 2019.

League leaders Borussia Dortmund's shock defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf on Tuesday had opened the door ajar ever so slightly, and Bayern accepted the unexpected invitation from the league leaders to keep the title race alive through Ribery's timely effort.

In their final home game of the year, Ribery's dramatic late winner on 83 minutes after a Renato Sanches-induced goalmouth scramble ensured Bayern cut the gap at the top to six points - although Borussia Mönchengladbach remain lurking in between in second.

Unconvincing Bayern 

Yet, take away the fancy glamor of Bayern's post-match, pre-Christmas light show, this was another disjointed, patchy display from the champions, especially after the impressive Serge Gnabry pulled up with a muscle injury after 28 minutes. Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi had denied Robert Lewandowski with a fantastic save midway through the first half after Gnabry's slide-rule pass had opened up the eastern German side. 

The 35-year-old veteran Ribery came on for the ex-Arsenal winger and soon pulled rank on his younger compatriot Kingsley Coman to take over duties on the left flank. Coman had looked threatening on occasion but struggled against another fellow Frenchman -  the impressive Dayot Upamecano, who had also hit the bar for the visitors in the first half. 

And whenever the 20-year-old defender wasn't there, goalkeeper Gulacsi was, brilliantly keeping out Joshua Kimmich's header on 78 minutes. But just when the game looked destined for a goalless draw, and RB Leipzig looked close to earning their first ever point in Munich, up popped Ribery, et voila. "But. Trois points. Magnifique," as the Gallic winger would say. 

The late drama continued in added time when substitute Stefan Ilsanker's lunge on Thiago earnt the Swede a deserved red card, while another sub Renato Sanches followed him down the tunnel after picking up his second yellow card for shoving the Swede to the ground in a temper tantrum.

Ilsanker's dismissal proved third time unlucky for the Red Bull-backed side, who have now lost a man on each of their three visits to the Bavarian capital following Emil Forsberg in 2016 and Willi Orban last season. To add insult to injury, Leipzig have lost all three games against Bayern Munich without scoring.

Title race

Bayern will maintain the result was more important than the performance. Don't eventual champions always win these tense affairs 1-0? Ribery's winner gains three valuable points and increases the heat on Dortmund at the top. Bayern will understandably be buoyed by BVB's unexpected vulnerability.

Three points at Niko Kovac's old club Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend would set things up nicely for the new year and largely avoid a winter of discontent. Overall though, that winter break can't come soon enough for Bayern to regroup and perhaps invest in new recruits. France international defender Lucas Hernandez of Atletico Madrid is reportedly the latest object of desire on Säbener Strasse.

With Bayern's golden oldies Arjen Robben and Ribery both probably in their last season at the club, young wing wonders Gnabry and Coman are the future, but it was the evergreen Ribery who won the day much to the delight of his adoring faithful on the Südkurve and much to the frustration of fans in Leipzig - and Dortmund.