MUNICH, Germany, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - 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'd 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 equaliser, but the tension among the
home side was clear, with the German champions sitting in the unfamiliar
second spot, four points behind Bayer Leverkusen.

Bjelica told Sky 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 colours.

With Kim Min-jae on Asia Cup duty, Matthijs de Ligt could be Bayern's only
fit centre-back should Upamecano fail to return in 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 had 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, travelled 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 were "well below expectations" in Sunday's
loss to Bremen, Bayern manager Thomas 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 defence on the counter, leading to Bjelica's
clash with Sane.

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