Three things that stood out in Cologne against Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski with a new goal gala for the new gala

In the hunt for the tenth championship title in a row, FC Bayern Munich did not let 1. FC Köln slow them down.

Lewandowski (9th, 63rd, 74th) with his goals 21 to 23 this season and Corentin Tolisso (25th) scored for the record champions, who also scored at least one goal in the 66th Bundesliga game in a row and thus set a record. FC Bayern also maintained the old record of 65 games with their own goal – across seasons from 2011/12 to 2013/14.

Three things that stood out in Bayern’s win in Cologne.

1. Lewandowski with a new goal gala for the new gala

Although he publicly reacted very professionally to his ‘loss’ to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or election in December, a slight frustration was evident in Robert Lewandowski afterwards.

His two goals in the 5-0 win in Stuttgart didn’t even elicit a weary smile from the Pole and when things go the way they did against Mönchengladbach (loss plus two goals from the woods), it’s best to avoid Lewandowski.

In Cologne, however, he did what he does best again: scoring goals. After the game, Manuel Neuer spoke relaxed about Bayern’s good “air duels” and how great Leroy Sané found his way into the team with the two assists after he was substituted on, before the captain, who had returned to the Munich goal after a corona infection, mentioned almost casually: “And Lewy has done his things again.”

It was things 21 to 23 this season, Torfabrik Robert Lewandowski is aiming to erase their own Bundesliga record from the previous season (41 goals) and can also celebrate an anniversary: ​​The goal to make it 4-0 was his 300th in the Bundesliga.

On Saturday, Lewandowski managed to successfully overcome frustration on the pitch. The same should happen early next week when it comes to prizes for the best footballers in the world. On Monday, the world association FIFA will choose the “World Footballer 2021”.

“The award is given digitally,” said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann and gave his star striker emotional support: “I hope he wins the title he deserves on Monday.”

2. Cheeky Effzeh pays a lot of dues

Steffen Baumgart has played against Bayern three times as a Bundesliga coach, losing 3-2 each time, but annoying the industry leader and his teams a lot. With Paderborn twice in the 2019/2020 season, with Cologne in the first leg in Munich last summer.

In the fourth duel, the courageous offensive game, which the former striker also cultivates as the responsible football coach, fizzled out early on – and it was his own fault: After nine minutes, the hosts countered and helped FC Bayern to an early lead.

Effzeh can be credited with maintaining his style, which was so successful recently, even against the toughest opponent and not being bent. However, Baumgart has to question whether, despite all the euphoria, it would not have been better not to run straight into the open knife.

Cologne’s early stages can be summed up in one word: naive. Such an early deficit against Bayern is usually fatal in terms of the rest of the game. The Cologne side were evenly matched for a while and had little luck (Mark Uth offside goal, Hüber hit the crossbar), but had to learn a lot overall.

Baumgart switched to attack mode on Friday and spoke of a “great chance of winning” against Bayern. Afterwards, Cologne’s coach was rather subdued. “We didn’t see a stitch today,” said Baumgart, but added: “You don’t see me dissatisfied, because we’re on the right track.”

3. Müller just keeps going

Julian Nagelsmann has now lost track of Thomas Müller. “I don’t even know if it’s 18 or 19 now,” the Bayern coach mused about the number of assists the national player has had this season.

There are actually “only” 16 (source: Opta database), which Nagelsmann won’t really care about. Ultimately, the coach stated: “That’s extraordinary, he’s welcome to continue like this.”

Carry on as in Cologne, when Müller played the goals of Lewandowski and Corentin Tolisso before the break with his season assists number 15 and 16 – and thus further intensified the hunt for his own record. Two years ago he had prepared 21 Munich goals.

Which is why Nagelsmann, who was still working in Leipzig at the time, now stated two things: “The statistics show that he is obviously very helpful to the team. Recognizing spaces is simply Thomas’ great gift.”

In addition to Lewandowski’s 300th Bundesliga goal, Bayern had even more to celebrate on Saturday: Thomas Müller’s 149 and 150 assists.