Football: Bayern leave it late to beat Wolfsburg, Leipzig go top

Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry celebrates scoring their second goal. PHOTO: REUTERS

BERLIN (REUTERS) - Bayern Munich's Joshua Zirkzee and Serge Gnabry scored late goals to give them a 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg at the start of the winter break on Saturday (Dec 21) as RB Leipzig went top of the table with a comeback win over Augsburg.

Dutch teenager Zirkzee, who also scored in stoppage time in their 3-1 midweek win over Freiburg, enjoyed a dream week, scoring with his first touch of the ball in the 85th minute.

He slotted in three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Philippe Coutinho and Gnabry doubled their lead in the 89th to lift Bayern to 33 points in third place.

Winners of the last seven league titles, the Bavarians were again wasteful with their chances in a one-sided first half, with Coutinho, Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller all coming close.

The hosts had to take off injured Javi Martinez just before halftime but they again dominated after the break while proving ineffective in their finishing until the introduction of Zirkzee.

The teenager has quickly made a name for himself and, with the team's injury list growing, could be in for more playing time after the break is completed in mid-January.

RB Leipzig went top with a 3-1 win at home to Augsburg, coming from a goal behind to clinch the three points.

Leipzig needed second-half goals from Konrad Laimer, Patrik Schick and Yussuf Poulsen to grab victory and move on to 37 points, three clear of Borussia Moenchengladbach, who take on Hertha Berlin in the capital later on Saturday.

Schalke 04 remained in fifth place on 30 after their 2-2 draw against Freiburg while Bayer Leverkusen moved up to 28 and into sixth after ending their year on a high, with a 1-0 win at Mainz 05 thanks to Lucas Alario's stoppage-time winner.

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