Bayern Munich 3-1 Freiburg: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Lewandowski Stars Again
By Ross Jackson
Bayern Munich proved they’re in no mood to coast towards the end of the season as the Bundesliga champions produced a dominant display in their 3-1 win over Freiburg on Saturday.
With Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow already called into action numerous times in the opening ten minutes, the deadlock was broken with just 15 minutes on the clock.
Robert Lewandowski displayed a typically deft first touch before showing the awareness and the composure to lay the ball back to Joshua Kimmich, who coolly rolled the ball into the bottom corner.
It wasn’t long before Bayern’s hitman was getting in on the act himself. After some clever build up play involving Thomas Muller, Leon Goretzka forced a smart save from Schwolow down to his right-hand side, only for Lewandowski to nod home the rebound.
However, Freiburg were in no mood to be humiliated, and they gave themselves a foothold in the game as Lucas Höler grabbed his fifth league goal of the season with an instinctive poacher’s finish after Sven Ulreich had denied Jonathan Schmid.
That foothold lasted less than five minutes, with Lewandowski sliding in to tap home Lucas Hernandez’s driven cross to notch his second of the game and his 33rd of another scintillating campaign. Try as they might, neither team could make a breakthrough in the second half, ensuring Bayern celebrated their coronation with three more points.
BAYERN MUNICH
Key Talking Point
With the Champions League delayed until August, Bayern fans will no doubt be worried their side will be severely lacking match-sharpness come the resumption of Europe's premier competition; as much as it could, this performance laid some of those worries to rest.
Despite having bagged their eighth consecutive title at Werder Bremen on Tuesday, Hans-Dieter Flick's men played with intensity and the purpose, continually laying siege on the Freiburg goal.
With a number of key men left out, Bayern proved they've got the squad capable of mounting a serious challenge for Champions League glory this season, and on this showing they'll be tough opposition for any side in Europe.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Ulreich (6); Pavard (6), Boateng (6), Javi Martinez (7), Hernández (7); Kimmich (8), Goretzka (7); Singh (6), Müller (7), Cuisance (6); Lewandowski (9*).
Substitutes: Coman (7), Kirkzee (6), Richards (6), Musiala (6).
STAR PLAYER - Robert Lewandowski
Clearly in no mood to begin the title celebrations early, Lewandowski produced a centre-forward masterclass to all but end the game as a contest before half time.
The performance encapsulated the Poland international as a player; one minute displaying the brute strength required when playing as a lone front man, before showing he had the nous and technical ability to link up play with the midfield.
While he's been known to produce the spectacular on occasions, the Pole's double was all about awareness and movement, reacting first to tap in the rebound off Schwolow before anticipating Hernandez's cross to get ahead of his marker.
The Freiburg defence weren't given a minute's piece by the Bungesliga's leading marksman; a quality performance from a quality player.
FREIBURG
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Schwolow (8*); Schmid (7), Heintz (5), Lienhart (5), Günter (6); Sallai (5) Tempelmann (6), Höfler (6), Grifo; (6) Petersen (6), Höler (7).
Substitutes: Kwon (6), Frantz (5), Waldschmidt (6), Itter (6), Abrashi (6).
Looking Ahead
Bayern's final game of yet another successful league campaign sees them travel to Wolfsburg.
Freiburg's quest for European football gets a little easier as they round of the season at home to Schalke.