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Bayern Munich’s clash against Bayer Leverkusen was a hotly anticipated Bundesliga contest. The team from Rhineland were the last remaining side that could throw a spanner in the Bayern works, and reignite a fading Bundesliga title race.
Going into the game with a 7-point lead over Dortmund, the Bavarians knew that a victory would all but guarantee an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title. On paper, both teams were evenly matched, with Leverkusen having had the upper hand in recent fixtures. Peter Bosz’s team had won their previous two games against the German giants, including a 2-1 victory on Bundesliga Matchday 13 at the Allianz Arena.
Overall, the game was an exciting watch. The viewers enjoyed a goal-fest, and the reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern emerged victorious by a 4-2 scoreline.
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Leverkusen started on the front foot, with striker Lucas Alario putting the home side ahead in the 9th minute with a smart near-post finish. Yet, the early goal only seemed to provide the impetus to the Bayern players. Three first-half goals from Kinglsey Coman, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry handed the advantage back to Hansi Flick’s men.
In the second half, Robert Lewandowski continued his extraordinary scoring run, and netted his 30th Bundesliga goal of the campaign to put the game beyond any doubt. History was created in the 89th minute when 17-year old Florian Wirtz scored his first senior goal for Bayer Leverkusen to become the Bundesliga’s youngest ever goal-scorer.
Here are 5 things we learned from the fascinating Bundesliga encounter:
#1 Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski record Bundesliga milestones
Thomas Muller recorded his 19th and 20th assists of the season, by setting up goals for Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski. With these two assists, Muller equalled the Bundesliga record for the most number of assists in a single campaign.
He is currently tied on 20 assists with Kevin de Bruyne, who achieved the same number with Wolfsburg in the 2014/15 Bundesliga campaign. Despite being suspended for the next game, Muller will still have three more opportunities to break the current Manchester City midfielder’s record.
On the other hand, the German’s partner-in-crime Robert Lewandowski netted his 30th league goal of the Bundesliga campaign. He became the first player to hit the 30-goal mark in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season. The goal was also his 44th strike in all competitions, thus ensuring his best goalscoring campaign till date, going past the 43 strikes he netted in the 2016/17 season.
Can anyone stop the 31-year old? It seems like very few teams have the answer, and there’s no doubt that the Polish international is currently the best striker in the world.
#2 Leverkusen struggled with a Kai Havertz-shaped hole in their midfield
There is no doubt that 20-year old Kai Havertz has been the lynchpin in Leverkusen’s midfield this season in the Bundesliga. The young German midfielder has aggregated 11 goals and 5 assists in the Bundesliga this season, including five goals in four games since the restart.
Therefore, when the youngster came off with a muscle problem in Leverkusen’s last game against Freiburg, the alarm bells had started to ring. Despite taking the lead early on, the lack of creativity and penetration through the middle was evident throughout the game.
Apart from his goal, Lucas Alario was easily crowded out through the middle by the Bayern centre-backs and looked out of ideas when he got on the ball. On the wings, the likes of Karim Bellarabi and Leon Bailey failed to provide the spark. Peter Bosz hooked them off in the second half in the hope of infusing some creativity from the bench.
All this highlights Havertz’s growing stature at the club, and his recent links to Real Madrid and Manchester United look very well justified.
#3 Leverkusen’s goalkeeper could have done better for a couple of goals
Lukas Hradecky has been a solid Bundesliga performer for the last five years, first with Eintracht Frankfurt and now with Bayer Leverkusen. In fact, the Finish goalkeeper has been one of the top goalkeepers in the German first division, ranking 4th in both the number of saves made (92) as well as percentage of shots saved (69.4%).
Despite making a great one-on-one save against Serge Gnabry, Hradecky did not have the best of games against the Bavarians. Although he did not stand a chance against the Coman and the Lewandowski goals, the Finland international could certainly have done better for the other two goals.
Bayern’s second of the game saw Leon Goretzka receive the ball on the edge of the box and unleash a left-footed drive towards Hradecky’s goal. Despite the midfielder catching the ball sweetly, the keeper seemed to have his angles covered, but a weak left hand saw the ball make its way into the back of the net.
For Bayern’s third goal, the keeper was caught in no man’s land. As Joshua Kimmich launched a perfectly timed long ball towards Serge Gnabry, Hradecky rushed off his line, anticipating a chance to get to the ball. In the process, he provided the German winger with the easy option of lobbing the ball over the his head.
Had the goalkeeper stayed on his line, the covering defender could have pushed the German wide enough to narrow down the angle, and reduce his chances of scoring.
The goal came just before the half-time whistle. The Bavarians went into the break with a comfortable 3-1 lead, reducing the chances of Peter Bosz’s men making a comeback in the second half.
#4 Leon Goretzka is the glue that holds Bayern’s midfield together
Leon Goretzka joined Bayern Munich from Bundesliga rivals Schalke on a free transfer in the summer of 2018. Despite facing tough competition in midfield from the likes of Thiago, Corentin Tolisso and Joshua Kimmich, Goretzka has proved his doubters wrong.
Not only has he carved out his place in the team, he has also been one of Bayern’s top performers in the last year or so in the Bundesliga. The German once again showed his class in a tough away game against a side that has been somewhat of a bogey team for the Bavarians in recent times in the Bundesliga.
The German was a tenacious tackler as well as a creative force, and dictated the game both defensively and offensively. This was evident in Bayern’s equalizer, where Goretzka won the ball in the middle of the park before releasing Coman with a delightful through ball. The Frenchman made no mistake in sliding the ball into the back of the net.
For Bayern’s second goal, the provider turned into the finisher, as Goretzka’s delicious left-footed drive found its way past the Leverkusen goalkeeper to give Bayern a crucial 2-1 lead.
With Thiago nursing injuries throughout various parts of the season, Leon Goretzka has emerged as the new leader in the Bayern midfield.
#5 The race for the Champions League spots is truly on
After Matchweek 30 in the Bundesliga, three teams are fighting for two Champions League spots. Dortmund are second with 63 points, and have a 7-point lead over 4th placed Borussia Monchengladbach. So unless something dramatic happens in the next four games, Die Borussen are nailed on for a Champions League place.
In third place on the Bundesliga table lie RB Leipzig, with 59 points to their credit, followed by Monchengladbach and Leverkusen, who both have an identical 56 points each. But both teams faced defeat this weekend in the Bundesliga.
After Gladbach lost to Freiburg yesterday, Leverkusen had to avoid defeat against Bayern to overtake their rivals into 4th place. But the demoralizing defeat to Die Roten leaves them behind Gladbach on goal difference and outside the Champions League places.
The positive side for Leverkusen fans is that Gladbach take on Bayern next weekend in the Bundesliga, while their side face three of the bottom half teams in the remaining four clashes. Nothing can be taken for granted by any of the sides, but Leverkusen hold the advantage in terms of the fixtures on paper, despite failing to obtain any points this weekend.
