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Bayern Munich recorded a third-straight win in the 2020-21 Bundesliga, overcoming Werder Bremen 3-1 at the Weserstadion.
Thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich are now five points clear at the top of the league table.
The game was pretty even in the opening exchanges before Bayern Munich found their groove and dominated proceedings. The visitors conjured the first real chance of the game in the seventh minute, but Serge Gnabry's shot from outside the box sailed just over the bar. The former Arsenal man was unlucky again, as his shot hit the post in the 34th minute.
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However, chances started coming thick and fast for Bayern Munich, with Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski having a couple of half chances. The deadlock was finally broken in the 22nd minute when Leon Goretzka connected well with Joshua Kimmich's brilliant corner kick after Thomas Muller's first touch found him free in the box.
Gnabry, who was looking dangerous from the get-go, finally got his goal in the 35th minute, finding the back of the net after a wonderful passing sequence.
The visitors returned to the pitch with the same intensity after the break and continued testing Jiří Pavlenka to add a third. Bayern Munich found it almost too easy to get the ball in the final third, with Lewandowski hitting the post twice in four minutes.
The Polish striker finally got his goal in the 67th minute, doing so with a simple tap-in. He hit the post in the 78th minute before he was substituted.
Werder Bremen got their consolation goal with five minutes remaining on the clock after a quick counter-attacking move. Manuel Neuer saved the initial effort but Niclas Fullkrug made no mistake in slotting the ball into an empty net.
Nevertheless, Bayern Munich hung on for their 18th league win this campaign and go five clear of Leipzig at the top.
On that note, let's have a look at five talking points from the game.
#5 Jiri Pavlenka puts in a brave display against relentless Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen never stood a chance against Bayern Munich. Their resistance against the reigning champions lasted only 22 minutes before they conceded three goals and were never in the game.
If not for the sharp reflexes from their goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka, the hosts would've conceded more goals on the night. Pavlenka was often left at the mercy of the Bayern Munich attackers by his defenders but displayed his class by making a couple of key saves in the second half. One of them was a point-blank range save to deny Robert Lewandowski.
It was his impressive display between the sticks, which ensured that the scoreline retained some respectability for Werder Bremen.
#4 Bayern Munich hit the woodwork four times
Bayern Munich were at their attacking best against Werder Bremen. They scored twice in the first half and added a third after the break. But they could've added at least a couple more if not for a bit of luck. They hit the woodwork as many as four times.
Coupled with a series of brilliant saves by Pavlenka through the 90 minutes, the visitors were unlucky to be been denied a host of clear goal-scoring opportunities by the woodwork.
Nevertheless, Bayern Munich were comfortably the better team on the night as they overwhelmed Bremen after a slow start to the game. The Bundesliga giants are now five clear at the top as they eye a record-extending ninth-consecutive league title.
Also Read: 10 football players with the most fans.
#3 Robert Lewandowski scores his 32nd league goal this season
Robert Lewandowski had a quiet shift by his staggering standards. He scored Bayern Munich's third of the night and was twice denied by the woodwork.
Nonetheless, his solitary strike took his league tally for the season to 32. Lewandowski is now a whopping 13 goals clear of Andre Silva, who has 19 goals. The Polish striker also has a 12 goal lead over Cristiano Ronaldo in the European Golden Shoe ranking.
There are still nine games left for the Bavarian giants to play in the German top flight. That gives the former Borussia Dortmund man enough time to break Germ Muller's single-season record of 40 goals.
#2 Bayern Munich fail to keep a clean sheet in the league yet again
Bayern Munich took home the three points from the game. Though winning games is the number one priority for them at the moment, the lack of clean sheets for them in the German top flight this season is a bit concerning.
The reigning champions have just five league clean sheets to their name this term, with three of them coming this year. They have the fifth-best defensive record in the league. though.
Bayern Munich's defensive frailties can be ignored for now, as they can seemingly score goals at will, which is giving them the desired results.
#1 Robert Lewandowski moves joint-second in the all-time Bundesliga goal-scoring leaderboard
Robert Lewandowski might've only scored one goal on the night, but that was enough for him to reach another milestone in the Bundesliga.
His goal tally in the German top-flight now stands at 268, which is the same as Klaus Fischer's. The Bayern Munich marksman now only has the legendary Gerd Muller in front of him in the all-time goal-scoring chart.
Robert Lewandowski has now scored against 16 of 17 teams in the Bundesliga this season. The only side not to have conceded a league goal to Lewandowski this campaign is RB Leipzig.
The two title contenders meet in the first week of April in what could be a potential title-decider. If he scores in that game, he would have netted against all teams in the league campaign at least once, and more importantly all but help seal another Bundesliga title for Bayern Munich.
Also Read: The 10 highest-paid goalkeepers in the world.
