Bayern gala with three flaws: Lewandowski shakes the Champions League

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

Bayern gala with three flaws
Lewandowski shakes the Champions League

By Tobias Nordmann

FC Bayern marches on with merciless dominance through the Champions League. Four wins and 17-2 goals are absolutely right for the title. In the 5: 2 against Benfica Lisbon, Robert Lewandowski delivers the really big show. Nevertheless, the well-known problems also reappear.

Things happened in Munich on Tuesday evening that are not known in Munich. No, no, FC Bayern didn’t lose, don’t panic. But on the contrary. FC Bayern achieved a damned sovereign victory in the Champions League. According to the simple Playstation principle. If you want to break it down as hard as you can. Two fast wingers who overwhelm their opponents and a man in the penalty area who did almost everything right. And now watch out, because the word “almost” is very important for this evening in Munich, when things happened that are not known in Munich. That evening when Benfica Lisbon was breaded 5: 2 (2: 1).

Well what happened? Oh, so much. That’s how it should be said. The good news had already been pierced hours before the kick-off of the fourth matchday in the premier class. This time directly from the club and not through a well-informed medium: coach Julian Nagelsmann was finally able to return his kitchen to its actual purpose, he was allowed to dismantle his gigantic home office and return to the sidelines after surviving the corona infection. He was missing there. Alphonso Davies reported on Monday on behalf of the FC Bayern star collective.

Now he, Nagelsmann, was back where he liked to be and doing what he had announced. He gave breaks to a few players. One of them was Thomas Müller. Yes, you don’t know that in Munich (anymore). You have to go back to the Kovac chapter in the club history to find the miller Thomas in this unusual role as a premium viewer. Maybe he sat on the bench again after the Kovac era. You just can’t remember it. All the same. Keep in mind: you don’t know it like that. Another thing: Surprisingly, Tanguy Nianzou was also in the starting line-up. The trainer had attested in public in recent days that he simply made too many mistakes (in training) and was therefore not an option. Some media had already written off the top talent from France afterwards.

Upameanco disappoints again

Against Lisbon he did his job well in principle and above all much better than next man Dayot Upamecano, who once again did not play a good game and played his part in both Portuguese goals. When Darwin Nunez conceded the second goal, Nianzou followed a little too casually. Yes, the defense remains the big issue at Bayern. Anyone who regularly, the exception was the cracking 0-5 in the DFB Cup at Borussia Mönchengladbach, scores four or five goals, can record their own vulnerability as a luxury problem, but that’s how it is: Even luxury problems are problems and how fast Bayern have just experienced painfully that they can cost a title.

But this evening deserves a different focus. The man of the game was once again the incredible Robert Lewandowski. The Pole scored three goals and set up a wonderful back-heel from Serge Gnabry. He put his premier class account on now 81 hits. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (139) and Lionel Messi (123) are even better, but after 100 games in the Champions League, Lewandowski celebrated this anniversary with his goal show, even the superstars had not met as often as Munich. However, this wonderful evening had a flaw, as the Bayern star thought. He would only have been perfect if he hadn’t shoved a penalty into the arms of the strong goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos right before the break, but instead pocketed it. Just like he always does. Things happened in Munich that are not known in Munich.

Nevertheless, there was no limit to the love and appreciation for the striker on Tuesday evening. “He is currently the most complete and best player in the world,” praised the former Munich sports director Matthias Sammer. In case you’re wondering where that came from, well, he was a guest at the stadium as an expert on Amazon Prime (the game was broadcast there!). And of course the coach was also happy about the gala of his indispensable: “He always wants to keep scoring. That sets him apart. The quota is impressive,” praised Nagelsmann, who felt a damn good mood in himself when he made his comeback in the arena: ” It was fun to watch. Of course we got two standard goals. Still, it was an incredibly good game for us. “

Coman makes an incredible game

Offensive it was really outstanding. Not just because of Lewandowski. Kingsley Coman could also have been named Man of the Game. What the Frenchman, whose future in Munich seems completely open due to extremely strenuous contractual negotiations, did with his opponent Alex Grimaldo, that was absurd. Grimaldo was so overwhelmed that you rarely see it at this level. You can also see it this way: The 25-year-old Coman impressively demonstrated on the right wing why Nagelsmann considers him to be one of the “top wingers on the planet”. The attack force of the Munich is maximally impressive. The ticket for the round of 16 was booked after four match days with 17-2 goals. That’s right for the title. However, the number of (two) goals conceals how vulnerable the team is at times. Nagelsmann knows that. It is Nagelsmann’s business.

A acid test (haha) is already waiting on Saturday (3.30 p.m. Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker)when it comes to third-placed SC Freiburg (!) in the Bundesliga at home. Not that things happen again in Munich that are not known in Munich.