Bundesliga: Veteran Tom Starke dusts off gloves as Bayern Munich extend lead

Courtesy: Twitter (@FCBayern)

Berlin: Bayern Munich`s third-choice goalkeeper Tom Starke stepped in at the last minute as the Bundesliga leaders went eight points clear with a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

The 36-year-old veteran started the season as goalkeeping coach co-ordinator in Bayern`s academy after retiring in May, but dusted off his gloves when Germany keeper Manuel Neuer fractured his foot in September.

Starke was supposed to be on the bench for the win at Eintracht, gained thanks to Arturo Vidal's fourth goal in as many games, but hastily pulled on the gloves after Neuer's understudy Sven Ulreich injured his groin in the warm-up.

"I have been doing this for a few years and the juices are still flowing," said Starke.

"It was a difficult game and we are absolutely happy with the result."

Bayern`s win means that they cannot be caught at the top before the winter break, which starts on December 17, and makes them `Herbstmeister` (Autumn champions) for the seventh season in a row.

Head coach Jupp Heynckes rang the changes from Tuesday`s 3-1 win at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, starting midweek goalscorers Robert Lewandowski and Corentin Tolisso on the bench.

"You could see that was a difficult game against an uncomfortable opponent," said Heynckes.

"It was hard work, but the team presented themselves really well for 95 minutes.

"You have to fight right until the very end in games like that, which is what my team did."

Tough-tackling midfielder Vidal netted the winner by heading home a Joshua Kimmich cross on 20 minutes.

However, after being booked in the first-half, the Chilean international was lucky to escape a red after fouling Marius Wolf with just under 40 minutes left and Heynckes hauled Vidal off soon after.

"The incident is hard to evaluate, but the referee was standing near by, so I think he made the right decision," said Heynckes.

"Of course, I know that Vidal is a hot-blooded player, so I took him off and it was okay when the referee didn`t show a yellow."

Frankfurt were also lucky not to finish with 10 men as Wolf was later shown a straight red card for tackling James Rodriguez from behind.

However, after consulting with the video assistant referee, the ref reversed the decision, booking Wolf instead.

Bayern`s situation was helped as second-placed RB Leipzig conceded a late goal in their 2-2 draw at home to Mainz.

Leipzig have taken five points from their last four league games leaving Bayern in pole position for a sixth straight Bundesliga title.