Munich had several reasons to be happy. They not only won the second half of the season opener on Schalke clearly and confidently. It was not only Robert Lewandowski who set a new Bundesliga record for 18 match days with his 23rd goal of the season. And at that time no Bundesliga team had 53 goals in their books.
But rather, Munich was happy with their victory in Gelsenkirchen, the zero on the other side of the field. Because for the second time in a row Bayern kept their box clean. Unusually they have not yet succeeded in this this season. Even if the opponents were Augsburg and Schalke, a construction site seems to be slowly closing.
“We have allowed less than last”, said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Zero was a special one for him. As the first Bundesliga goalkeeper, he remained a total of 197 games without conceding a goal. The next record.
Preliminary cushion?
And bang: By the way, what looked like a weak phase after the Bundesliga defeat in Mönchengladbach and the cup-out at the second division Holstein Kiel at the beginning of January, at the latest after the three victories in the English week, wasted.
Coach Hansi Flick brakes: “We have a certain cushion. But the important thing is that we approach every game like the last one.” But if a Bayern crisis consists of two defeats or not so clear victories and leads to a seven-point lead over Leipzig as the first pursuer, it looks dark for the competition for the championship. The Munich team has never given up such a lead after 18 match days. The Dortmunders, who are the toughest pursuers, are even 13 points behind.
Bright future
In view of the fact that the Munich team will next have the lower table regions on the menu with Hoffenheim, Hertha BSC and Bielefeld and the pursuers from Leipzig and Leverkusen will take more points in a direct duel on the next match day, should be with Take a look at the title fight in southern Germany to relax
“We have taken a giant leap forward in the table. That is what matters”, said Thomas Müller, with nine goals and ten assists, the second best scorer in Bavaria and the league.
More records are pending
In other top European leagues, the big defending champions like Liverpool FC in England (six points behind the leaders), Real Madrid in Spain (seven points) or Juventus Turin in Italy (seven points) have to worry about the championship when they are weak do. Munich can already plan for number 31 and set further records.
Lewandowski wants to crack the age-old mark of 40 goals this season in a Bundesliga season by Gerd Müller. Neuer will be the first goalkeeper to survive 200 league games without conceding a goal. And the next title record is just around the corner: At the beginning of February, it will go to Qatar for the Fifa Club World Cup. This is still part of the preseason and Bayern will win the title there too if they had collected all six possible trophies in one season for the first time.
Stand: 24.01.2021, 23:28
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