In recent years, Robert Lewandowski has been Bayern Munich’s goal threat personified. In 375 competitive games, the Pole scored 344 goals and assisted in 72 other goals. In the summer, the German soccer record champion parted with his goal guarantee, Lewandowski switched to FC Barcelona for 45 million euros. Two things have been clear since Sunday at the latest: FC Bayern is a goal factory even without its sharpest striker – Bayern extended their sovereign lead in the table (nine points after three rounds, goal difference 15:1) with a 7-0 away win in Bochum. At the same time, Lewandowski is also in excellent shape in FC Barcelona’s kit. He scored his first goal in Spain’s La Liga after 44 seconds in Sunday night’s 4-1 win on his 34th birthday, before scoring another goal in the second half.
Even before the game, FC Bayern congratulated him on his birthday on the official Twitter channel on Sunday. Some fans weren’t particularly happy about it. “Who is that?” Posted a follower under the photo that shows Lewandowski in FC Bayern-Leiberl with the 2020 Champions League trophy. Another Twitter user said: “I don’t remember him playing for us.”
Everyone for everyone
The fact that Lewandowski is so quickly forgotten by Bayern is probably due to the catapult start of the “Mia-san-Mia” club in the championship. The 7-0 win in Bochum was the second highest away win in the club’s history. At the start of the Bundesliga, Bayern had already dismantled Oliver Glasner’s Frankfurt Eintracht 6-1 in Munich. The mood in the team couldn’t be better. “Everyone treats everyone to everything. There is good energy that wasn’t always there last year,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann on Sunday. His postscript – “We don’t set ourselves any limits” – must sound like a dangerous threat to the competition. Who should stop this Bayern?
One reason for FC Bayern’s top form and enthusiasm for the game could also be that after Lewandowski’s departure, the position of center forward is vacant. On offense there is a kind of “constructive anarchy” with up to four very agile attackers. In Bochum, ex-Salzburg players Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Thomas Müller used their free space in the 4-2-2-2 system.
Sabitzer in the starting lineup
With Marcel Sabitzer, an Austrian plays more than a footnote in the current Bayern success story. In the previous season, the Styrian was still a frustrated reservist with few appearances, now the 28-year-old was in the starting lineup for all four wins of the season (including the 5-3 in the Supercup at RB Leipzig). Sabitzer plays a good role in central midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich. The fact that he was substituted on Sunday in the 62nd minute had nothing to do with Nagelsmann being dissatisfied with him. At this point, Bayern were already comfortably 5-0 up.
Source: Nachrichten
