BERLIN (AFP) - Leon Goretzka scored on his first appearance for four months as Bayern Munich romped to a controversial 4-1 win at Freiburg in a Bundeliga match overshadowed by a substitute mix-up on Saturday.
Four days before their Champions League quarterfinal, first leg at Villarreal, Bayern put in a strong performance on the road.
However, there could be consequences for Bayern who briefly had 12 players on the pitch after a mistake following a late double substitution.
“We drew the referee’s attention to the fact that Bayern had eleven outfield players on the pitch,” Freiburg director Jochen Saier told Sky.
Referee Christian Dingert noted the incident - which he described as a “totally confused situation” - in his match report and the official told Sky: “Now the DFB (German Football Association) must decide.”
Under league rules, such a breach of the substitutes regulations could see the result being reversed with Freiburg awarded the three points.
When Niklas Suele and Marcel Sabitzer, who later scored, both came on in the 86th minute, only one player came off, leaving Bayern with 12 men on the pitch for 17 seconds.
“There was the bizarre situation,” admitted Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“The fourth official showed the wrong number and Kingsley Coman didn’t know he had to go off. Mistakes happen.
“From the point of fair sport there was nothing that speaks against it having been a fair game.”
There were then eight minutes of stoppage time after intense discussions between both benches and the referee.
Germany star Goretzka, who missed Bayern’s previous 13 league games with a hip injury, gave his team a second-half lead by heading in a free-kick.
Freiburg equalized when ex-Bayern striker Nils Petersen, who signed a contract extension Friday, hit the net just 17 seconds after coming on.