Wolfsburg 1-3 FC Bayern
Robert Lewandowski put in a man-of-the-match performance to get Bayern back to winning ways with a big Bundesliga victory in Wolfsburg.
The Poland hitman scored two and made the third as the league champions put Wolfsburg to the sword, winning comfortably, despite going down to ten men after Arjen Robben was sent off.
In the lead-up to such a high-intensity game, the last thing Niko Kovac needed was to read that Arsene Wenger is being discussed as his replacement at FC Bayern. But his players did the talking for him on the pitch. They were favourites to win this game at odds of 1.36 at SBOBET, and in the end, they did it in some style.
Highlights of the game
Bayern have the household names in their ranks, and it was Lewandowski who had the first attempt on goal, heading straight at Koen Casteels after a good cross from David Alaba found him in space. And then James Rodriguez tested the keeper with a low drive on 12 minutes. In a rare foray up field, Wolfsburg had an effort when Brazilian wing-back William crossed for Wout Weghorst, but the big striker headed wide of Manuel Neuer’s post.
That seemed to spark something in the Champions and they swarmed down the pitch to put Casteel’s goal under some pressure, with efforts from Joshua Kimmich and Arjen Robben. Lewandowski then brought a great save from the home keeper with a shot which was arrowing towards the top corner.
But the arch-poacher gave Casteel no chance on the half hour, taking a pass from Mats Hummels and firing his shot into the bottom-left corner. It was a smart end to a barren period for Lewandowski and a just reward for Bayern’s superiority.
Kovac will have kept the half-time Bundesliga 2018 updates from his team, the big news coming from Stuttgart where league leaders Borussia Dortmund were 0-3 up. BVB’s exciting young winger Jadon Sancho was on target again.
But Bayern could only affect what was happening in Wolfsburg, and they did just that, taking the game away from their hosts as Lewandowski pounced and scored from close range.
Javi Martinez had a headed chance to make it three, but Casteel saved and then, on 57 minutes there was a glimmer of hope for the hosts when Bayern went down to ten men. The experienced Robben was already on a yellow, and the referee had no hesitation in waving him on his way with a red card when he flew in on Elvis Rexhbecaj.
Then, Wolfsburg were right back in it six minutes later when Admir Mehmedi crossed for Weghorst and the 6ft-6in striker fired home. That lifted the home crowd, and it was game on with half an hour to play.
But not for long! Bayern restored their two-goal lead on 72 minutes and Lewandowski turned provider this time, setting up James Rodriguez to shoot low into the corner.
Lewandowski came close to his hat-trick with a low drive, but Casteel got down well to save at his post and despite a late flurry of activity from the hosts. Kovac’s side saw the game out with ease.
Key Statistics
Bayern have been on a poor run which has seen them pick up a single point in three games. Before the international break, the Champions were humbled by Borussia Monchengladbach in a 0-3 defeat.
But the Bundesliga 2018 odds still has them as overwhelming favourites to retain their crown, and that makes some sense on this performance.
They dominated the first half with 65 per cent possession and seven shots on goal while Wolfsburg hadn’t troubled Neuer. Both teams were skippered by their goalkeepers, and Casteel had earned his wage by the end of the game, facing 11 shots on target. Meanwhile, all Neuer had to do was pick the ball out of the net.
Die Wolfe have now conceded two or more goals in the last six games, and that’s a real worry, particularly as they have failed to win in seven. But Bayern have now won for the first time in five and climbed up to second.
The visitors stretched the head-to-head lead to 39 wins to six.
What’s next?
Wolfsburg have two away games to come now, but they could yield points with visits to bottom club Dusseldorf and then Hannover. Scoring goals isn’t such a problem for them, but keeping them out certainly is.
And it’s back to the Champions League for Bayern, off to Athens to take on AEK. Kovac’s team will then continue their Bundesliga chase with a trip to Mainz.
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