Bayern grit pleases milestone man Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski was happy to see Bayern Munich show their gritty side ahead of a Bundesliga showdown with leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The Polish striker scored both goals in a hard-fought 2-1 win home over Wolfsburg on Wednesday which kept Bayern a point behind Leverkusen in second place.

Lewandowski’s brace saw him become only the third player in Bundesliga history to pass 250 goals after Gerd Muller (365) and Klaus Fischer (268), though he is the first non-German to achieve the feat.

Hansi Flick’s side face Leverkusen on Saturday in a top-of-the-table clash which will decide which team lead the standings for the subsequent mid-season break.

“I’m happy that I scored twice today and that we got three points,” Lewandowski told reporters.

“We didn’t play the perfect football in the first half, but we had a little more consistency in the second half. Wolfsburg played very well.

“The recent period has not been easy, but we now have one more game and then a short break.”

Maximilian Philipp put the visitors ahead at the Allianz Arena with a clinical finish after a mistake by Leroy Sane.

It meant Bayern have trailed in six consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time since 2008-09 under Jurgen Klinsmann – although they have avoided defeat on each occasion – and Lewandowski urged his team-mates to be sharp from the kick-off against Leverkusen.

“We have to push in the last game, no matter how good Leverkusen is at the moment,” he added.

“We have to show our game and try everything to win the last game. We have to be awake from the start and not just when we concede the first goal.”

250 pic.twitter.com/a2ZLj2693O

— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) December 16, 2020

Wolfsburg have now won none of their 24 Bundesliga away games at Bayern (drawn two, lost 22). In the history of the competition, no side has ever played as often at one opponent without tasting victory.

And Bayern head coach Flick dedicated his side’s latest victory over Wolfsburg to his mother, Traudel, as he praised the approach shown by his players.

“I promised my mother, whose birthday is today, three points. So I am satisfied,” Flick told a media conference afterwards.

“We want to finish a great and very successful 2020 in Leverkusen with three more points if possible

“The mentality has to be right and that was the case against Wolfsburg, so we deserved the win.

“We played against a team that was of very good quality. For the neutral viewer it was a lively game. After falling behind, we fought our way back well.

“The equaliser before the break was an important one. You could tell that we really wanted to win against Wolfsburg.”