Lewandowski breaks 100-goal mark with Bayern brace

AFP, BERLIN: Robert Lewandowski followed up his record five-goal haul by netting twice in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win at Mainz on Saturday to take his tally to 101 Bundesliga goals as the Bavarians went five points clear. Having sent German league records tumbling with five goals in just nine minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg, the 27-year-old Poland hot-shot now has ten goals in six German league games.
“If you believe in yourself then the chances come along,” said Lewandowski. Bayern squandered an early chance when Thomas Mueller skied his penalty effort on 21 minutes, while Mainz’s Japan striker Yoshinori Muto drilled his shot just wide of the post seven minutes later. But Lewandowski marked his 100th Bundesliga goal by heading Kingsley Coman’s cross inside the far post on 51 minutes.
A superb pass from Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal then put Lewandowski in behind the defence to round the goalkeeper for his 101st on 63 minutes. France Under-21 winger Coman grabbed Bayern’s third five minutes later with a simple tap from a Douglas Costa cross. With second-placed Borussia Dortmund hosting Darmstadt on Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern took their chance to open a five-point gap as they look to become the first team to win a fourth consecutive German league title.
Schalke remain third after Germany Under-21 attacking midfielder Leroy Sane scored for his third game in succession to seal Saturday’s 1-0 win at Hamburg with a superb strike on the hour. Bayer Leverkusen, who play European champions Barcelona away on Tuesday, romped to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen with goals by Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi, winger Kevin Kampl and Germany Under-21 talent Julian Brandt.
Bayer’s ex-Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez came on for the last 15 minutes as Roger Schmidt saved him for the mouth-watering clash at the Camp Nou.
Wolfsburg, sponsored by embattled German carmaker Volkswagen, dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Hanover to stay fourth. German Cup winners Wolfsburg, who finished second in the league to Bayern Munich least season, receive an estimated 100 million euros ($112m) a year from the carmaker who risk being fined up to $18 billion in the United States alone after being caught up in a pollution test cheating scandal.
Wolfsburg took the lead at their Volkswagen Arena stadium against strugglers Hanover when Daniel Caligiuri’s cross was met at the near post by Dutch striker Bas Dost on 40 minutes. But Hanover levelled when Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake’s superb volley gave goalkeeper Diego Benaglio no chance on 57 minutes to leave Wolves fourth in the table.
Wolfsburg play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday in the Champions League looking for their second win in Europe after beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 a fortnight ago. Borussia Moenchengladbach, who host Manchester City on Wednesday, picked up their second win since Lucien Favre’s shock resignation last Sunday with a 3-1 win at VfB Stuttgart.

 

Lewandowski breaks 100-goal mark with Bayern brace

AFP, BERLIN: Robert Lewandowski followed up his record five-goal haul by netting twice in Bayern Munichs 3-0 win at Mainz on Saturday to take his tally to 101 Bundesliga goals as the Bavarians went five points clear. Having sent German league records tumbling with five goals in just nine minutes off the bench in Tuesdays 5-1 rout of Wolfsburg, the 27-year-old Poland hot-shot now has ten goals in six German league games. If you believe in yourself then the chances come along, said Lewandowski. Bayern squandered an early chance when Thomas Mueller skied his penalty effort on 21 minutes, while Mainzs Japan striker Yoshinori Muto drilled his shot just wide of the post seven minutes later. But Lewandowski marked his 100th Bundesliga goal by heading Kingsley Comans cross inside the far post on 51 minutes. A superb pass from Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal then put Lewandowski in behind the defence to round the goalkeeper for his 101st on 63 minutes. France Under-21 winger Coman grabbed Bayerns third five minutes later with a simple tap from a Douglas Costa cross. With second-placed Borussia Dortmund hosting Darmstadt on Sunday, Pep Guardiolas Bayern took their chance to open a five-point gap as they look to become the first team to win a fourth consecutive German league title. Schalke remain third after Germany Under-21 attacking midfielder Leroy Sane scored for his third game in succession to seal Saturdays 1-0 win at Hamburg with a superb strike on the hour. Bayer Leverkusen, who play European champions Barcelona away on Tuesday, romped to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen with goals by Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi, winger Kevin Kampl and Germany Under-21 talent Julian Brandt. Bayers ex-Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez came on for the last 15 minutes as Roger Schmidt saved him for the mouth-watering clash at the Camp Nou. Wolfsburg, sponsored by embattled German carmaker Volkswagen, dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Hanover to stay fourth. German Cup winners Wolfsburg, who finished second in the league to Bayern Munich least season, receive an estimated 100 million euros ($112m) a year from the carmaker who risk being fined up to $18 billion in the United States alone after being caught up in a pollution test cheating scandal. Wolfsburg took the lead at their Volkswagen Arena stadium against strugglers Hanover when Daniel Caligiuris cross was met at the near post by Dutch striker Bas Dost on 40 minutes. But Hanover levelled when Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotakes superb volley gave goalkeeper Diego Benaglio no chance on 57 minutes to leave Wolves fourth in the table. Wolfsburg play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday in the Champions League looking for their second win in Europe after beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 a fortnight ago. Borussia Moenchengladbach, who host Manchester City on Wednesday, picked up their second win since Lucien Favres shock resignation last Sunday with a 3-1 win at VfB Stuttgart.