Aith a hat-trick from Lewandowski, Bayern let their attacking power speak on Tuesday to crush the young team of RB Salzburg 7-1 (1-1 in the first leg) and qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. “We have sent a message, with an exclamation mark,” enthused Bavarian captain Manuel Neuer, happy that his team had shown their determination in their favorite competition.
Before the match, Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann had asked his attackers to better serve Lewandowski: “When you have a Lewandowski in your team, it is always wise to provide him with balls”, he had said: “At the to go, he had had spaces, but had received few balls. We discussed that and worked on it in training. »
His players applied the instructions to the letter. And the best player in Fifa 2020 and 2021 killed the game in 23 minutes, with three goals entering the Champions League record books, as it is the fastest hat-trick after kick-off in the history of the queen competition, according to statistician Opta. (In 1996, Marco Simone had scored three times in the first 24 minutes.)
Two penalties
Lewandowski’s bodyguard Maximilian Wöber, overwhelmed, swung him twice into the box, first giving him two penalties (12e and 21e). The second was actually given by VAR, as French referee Clément Turpin first whistled a free kick a few centimeters outside the box. Almost on the engagement, “Lewy” benefited from a favorable counter against the Austrian goalkeeper who came out of his area, to score his third goal in the empty cage (3-0, 23rd). The 33-year-old striker tops the Champions League scoring charts with 12 goals, and remains the competition’s third-highest scorer of all time with now 85, still a long way behind Ronaldo (140) and Messi (125).
Serge Gnabry, served by Kingsley Coman, scored the 4e goal shortly after (4-0, 31e). We had been playing for half an hour, and the case was heard! Thomas Muller (5-0, 54e6-1, 83e) and Leroy Sané (7-1, 86e) turned victory into a demonstration. Maurits Kjaergaard saved the honor of Salzburg (5-1, 70e).
“Upa” on the bench
“Everyone knew what this game meant for us and for the success of our season,” Müller recalled after his double. “We had this chance tonight, which we did not have on the way to Salzburg. »
Bayern can therefore continue to believe in their dream: to win the Champions League again after that of 2020. But in terms of play, Julian Nagelsmann has his work cut out for him and little time to correct the shortcomings that have appeared in recent years. weeks. The Bavarian defense, and especially the central defense, is currently not at the level of a contender for the European crown.
As in the first leg, Nagelsmann had notably left French neo-international defender Dayot Upamecano on the bench, author of several rude blunders recently. He only brought him in on the hour mark, when the score was 5-0. Without “Upa”, the technician had lined up a three-man defense and no less than six attacking players. An option that could prove to be high risk against the tenors of the competition.
Another result of the evening: Liverpool qualified in pain against Inter Milan. The Reds were beaten 1-0 at Anfield. But they once again join the European top 8 thanks to the success (2-0) acquired late three weeks ago at San Siro.
