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Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-2 win against Bayer Leverkusen that takes the Bavarian club closer to an unprecedented eighth consecutive Bundesliga title. The Munich club lead closest challengers Borussia Dortmund by seven points with only four games left in the season.
Bayern Munich conceded within the first ten minutes of the match when Lucas Alario poked the ball past Manuel Neuer at the near post. From then on, though, Hansi Flick’s side asserted their dominance. Kingsley Coman equalised in the 27th minute with a composed finish. Two quickfire goals from Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry before the end of the first half then effectively put the game to bed.
In the second half, Robert Lewandowski scored his 30th Bundesliga goal of the season with a powerful header, bulging the Leverkusen net in the 66th minute. Leverkusen managed to bag a consolation goal towards the end of the game through the 17-year-old Florian Wirtz.
Without further ado, let us look at the five talking points from the match.
Five talking points from Bayern Munich's 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in the 2019-20 Bundesliga:
#1: A comfortable win in the end for Bayern Munich
The first twenty minutes of the game were bizarre in the sense that Leverkusen seemed to be on the front foot. They had already scored through Alario and were forcing Bayern Munich’s back four to make careless mistakes. With their pressing game, they stifled the Bavarian club's attacking rhythm.
However, after this point, the roles seemed to reverse. Bayern Munich now had more of the ball. They exposed Leverkusen’s midfield and back-three through Coman’s goal. Goretzka won possession in central midfield and slotted a perfectly weighted pass to Coman who was one-on-one with the keeper. The Frenchman coolly curled the ball past Hradecky.
From then on, Bayern Munich had multiple scoring chances. Thomas Muller found more space to pick out and receive passes in the attacking third. In fact, Muller provided the pass for Goretzka’s left-footed drive outside the box. Gnabry scored his 19th goal in all competitions as he lobbed the keeper two minutes later.
Flick’s side did not have to exert themselves much in the second half. An exquisite cross from Muller from the right-hand side was met by Lewandowski’s bullet header, which was the icing on the cake for Bayern Munich.
#2: Robert Lewandowski sets more scoring records
Robert Lewandowski is enjoying his most prolific season to date. He has scored 30 goals in the Bundesliga, equalling his personal best in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons.
The Pole now has 44 goals in 38 appearances for Bayern Muncih in all competitions, which is another personal best. Furthermore, he has scored 40 goals or more in the past five seasons for Bayern Munich.
It was not one of his best games. But in a testament of his remarkable goal-scoring ability, he still managed to get on the scoresheet with a late surge into the box and a driven header past the keeper.
Gerd Muller's record of 40 Bundesliga goals in a season is perhaps out of Lewandowski's reach though, with only four games left in the 2019-20 season.
#3: Florian Wirtz becomes the youngest goal-scorer in Bundesliga history
The 17-year-old Florian Wirtz of Leverkusen became their youngest player to debut in the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came on as a substitute in the second half. While the rest of the team looked dejected after a forgettable first half, Wirtz seemed to be the only lively spark. He constantly tried to win possession and kickstart attacks for his team.
His efforts were rewarded in the 89th minute. Wirtz cut in on his right foot in the box and curled a sublime shot with his left foot past Neuer, thus scoring his first goal for Leverkusen. It made him the youngest goal-scorer in Bundesliga history.
This goal will be a feather in the youngster’s cap, especially against such a team as Bayern. It will be exciting to see whether Wirtz can live up to his potential.
#4: Bayer Leverkusen lacked team chemistry
Bayer Leverkusen had been in good form before this match, winning three of their previous four Bundesliga games. However, they were without their star player, Kai Havertz, who had sustained a muscle injury in their previous match against SC Freiburg.
Leverkusen seemed to do well without Havertz at the start of the match. They caused trouble for Bayern Munich and scored early through Lucas Alario. However, slowly but surely, they lost their grip on the match. The team was unable to string passes together and allowed the opposition to dominate possession.
Leverkusen's attacking players lacked any cohesion. In particular, Moussa Diaby, who has been electrifying this season, was frustrating in this match. Instead of picking out his teammates in the final third, he went for glory several times and ended up miscuing his shots.
Overall, it was a disappointing game for Peter Bosz’s side and they would have to work harder to gain the all-important Champions League spot.
#5: Bayern Munich would be missing Lewandowski and Muller
Ever since Hansi Flick became manager, Muller has become a new beast. The “Raumdeuter” had another stellar game, providing assists to Goretzka and Lewandowski. This took his assists tally for the season to 20, which equalled the record set by Kevin De Bruyne.
Both Lewandowski and Muller were given yellow cards in the match that saw the Bayern Munich duo reach five yellow cards for the season. As a result they will miss the next Bundesliga game against Borussia Monchengladbach.
This comes as a huge blow to Bayern Munich, who would have wanted two of their key players. Although the club are at the top of the table and certain to win the Bundesliga, they would want to win against Gladbach, who are an in-form team looking to secure a Champions League place.
