16th matchday
Munich (dpa) – After the first first round championship in three years, the Bayern stars breathed a sigh of relief. World footballer Robert Lewandowski and assist king Thomas Müller (74th) brought the Munich back on track in the 2-1 (1-0) against SC Freiburg.
But only a tiny bit was missing – and the record champions would have had the next experience of frustration after the last two competitive game bankruptcies. “We didn’t have an easy phase,” said coach Hansi Flick. “It was important that we show that we want to win this game.”
Accompanied by the crackling of the lawnmower, the Bayern coach chatted with guest coach Christian Streich for a long time after the final whistle. The guests quarreled that super joker Nils Petersen had less luck with his crossbar after equalizing on his first touch of the ball (62nd) in stoppage time. “In the end we shook a bit, but we are responsible for that,” said Bayern defender Jérôme Boateng after a “work victory”. “We don’t always have to shine, we want to win games.”
Flick rated it similarly. As much as he liked the upward trend after the penalty killer from Kiel and the 2: 3 at Borussia Mönchengladbach – there is still a lot of work to do in the next few weeks for the triple winners, who are again loudly pushing themselves. «We want to get out of there and not make life so difficult for ourselves. You can’t turn that off overnight with a switch, ”said the 55-year-old. “We are on the right track and the point is that we continue on this path.” The next stop is the game on Wednesday in Augsburg.
Even before the duel with the Free State neighbors, the Munich team have been confirmed as first round champions, as they were last in 2018. Flick did not want to evaluate the point losses from Leipzig as the first pursuer, already four points behind, and from Leverkusen and Dortmund (seven behind each). “I’m currently not interested in the competition,” said the Munich success coach. “But it’s good to have a four point lead. This is particularly important in this phase. “
Although Flick changed his formation compared to the Kiel embarrassment to six positions, but that was anything but actionism. The long-time assistant to national coach Joachim Löw remains true to his line even in his first difficult phase in Munich, only adjusting his style of play selectively and not fundamentally. But in the coming weeks, when the Club World Cup is about the next title and the Champions League round of 16 against Lazio Rome is approaching, defensive behavior and compactness will be improved. In the end, his team had to be more determined and callous, said the coach.
Lewandowski and Müller as Munich match winners already showed that as far as possible, although both had another goal on their feet. Lewandowski screwed up his first round record yield to 21 goals in the lead after preparatory work by Müller. The all-time high of 40 goals by «Bomber» Gerd Müller is still in his sights.
Thomas Müller was not only happy about the 2-1 winning goal, but also about his 125th assist in the Bundesliga. This makes him number 1 since the start of this data collection in 2004. He demonstratively cheered after his goal with preparer Leroy Sané, who came after the injured Serge Gnabry after 25 minutes. Flick doesn’t fear a long break.
“We all know what he can do and what potential he has,” said Boateng. Leon Goretzka also took Sunday’s performance as an encouragement. “Leroy has the highest standards of himself and has shown how important he can be for us.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210117-99-62177 / 5
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