müller spot kick secures victory for bayern published: tuesday 23 october 2012, 22.55cet
thomas müller's penalty provided bayern with the perfect pick-me-up following their matchday two loss and condemned losc to a third defeat.
by chris burke from grand stade lille métropole
the gears are spinning again for fc bayern münchen in their uefa champions league bid after thomas müller's first-half penalty consigned group f rivals losc lille to a third consecutive reverse.
toppled by fc bate borisov last time out, bayern looked in no mood for a repeat and quickly took the upper hand, earning their reward on 20 minutes when müller slotted in following a foul on philipp lahm. losc leant on their obvious determination to stave off defeat but were unable to land more than passing blows as their qualification hopes suffered another, surely fatal, dent.
pressing their opponents high up the pitch, bayern soon began rolling out the slick passing and movement that has brought them a record eight consecutive scalps since the start of the bundesliga season. former losc academy player franck ribéry looked especially penetrative up against stand-in full-back djibril sidibé, yet it was down the right that the visitors made their first telling encroachment, lahm racing into the area until lucas digne brought him down.
calm and focused, müller stepped up to the spot and rolled the ball to mickaël landreau's left, instantly rendering a daunting task even more arduous for the hosts. their response was spirited, though, holger badstuber doing well to deny nolan roux a shot on goal and túlio de melo leaping in vain to meet a cross from digne, whose left-wing surges were becoming his team's best outlet.
anything more concrete was nonetheless proving elusive as bayern maintained a steady hand on proceedings, even if ribéry had to be replaced by xherdan shaqiri at half-time after receiving one knock too many. losc did not wait long for a change of their own, introducing dimitri payet for the subdued salomon kalou, but, with little rhythm or precision to their passing, they struggled to work themselves close to manuel neuer's goal.
a goal to the good, jupp heynckes' men were little concerned with making sparks fly either, and it took a wayward long-range volley from the otherwise tidy toni kroos to create a little excitement again on the hour mark.
müller then slid the ball wide from lahm's low cross with 13 minutes remaining, before substitute ryan mendes roused the crowd with a blocked attempt at the other end. the french side will need something much more substantial to earn their first points away against the same opponents on 7 november.
