BERLIN, Dec. 19 -- Bayern Munich secured their fourth straight win after beating Leipzig on Franck Ribery's late goal at the closer of 16th round in Bundesliga on Wednesday.
The defending champions wrapped up a vital win and close the gap to leaders Borussia Dortmund to six points as Ribery sealed all three points on home soil.
Both sides staged an evenly balanced opening period as both defences neutralized almost all offensive actions. Hence, goal-scoring opportunities were at premium in the first half.
Bayern collected their first chance with 24 minutes played when Serge Gnabry's deep through ball allowed Robert Lewandowski to rattle the left post following a one-on-one with Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
Just before the break Leipzig reaped their first chance of the game as well as Dayot Upamecano headed to the woodwork after a corner kick in the 36th minute.
After the restart, both defence lines continued to dictate the pace on the pitch and choke off build-up works within the midfield.
Bayern's Renato Sanches unleashed long-range effort, which missed the target just wide. However, it was a wakening call for the hosts as Niklas Suele squandered a promising chance from very close range before Gulacsi defused a close-range header from Joshua Kimmich in the 78th minute.
Bayern piled on the pressure and were rewarded in the 83rd minute as Leipzig failed to clear a ball from the area before Ribery hammered home from inside the box.
Both sides had to complete the game with 10 men as Leipzig's Stefan Ilsanker was sent off with a straight red care for a rude foul play while Renato Sanches booked his second yellow card to receive his marching orders.
With the victory, third placed Bayern Munich is now equal on points with runner up Borussia Monchengladbach whereas Leipzig continue on the 4th place of the standings.
Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt came back twice to pick up a 2-2 draw at Mainz. Bayer Leverkusen extended Schalke's winless run to four games following a 2-1 victory. Werder Bremen held Hoffenheim to a 1-1 stalemate and Felipe's equalizer secured struggling Hannover a 1-1 at Freiburg.?