Bayern Munich players jump in support for Leroy Sane

Bayern Munich coach and players show support for Sane after substitution against Leverkusen.

Bayern Munich ended a remarkable year fittingly with a last-minute winner against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Robert Lewandowski’s brace ensured that Die Roten ended Hinrunde at the top of the table for the first time in the last three years.

Along with the thrill of scoring a winner in injury time against a title rival, the post-match talk was dominated by Leroy Sane. The German winger came on for Kingsley Coman at the half-hour mark in the game. He was substituted off after the hour mark by Hansi Flick. The German winger looked frustrated while coming off the pitch.

Sane was largely a peripheral figure during his time on the pitch. He was struggling to give Bayern the cutting edge in the final third. While the other forwards were also not excelling, but they were having much better performance than Sane.

While speaking to media after the game (via TZ), Lewandowski jumped in defense of Sane. The Polish striker admitted that Sane needs more time to overcome the effects of his knee injury to show his quality for Die Roten.

"“He needs time after his injury. Next year I’m sure he will show his quality. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him, he’s a great guy.”"

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Lewandowski was not the only player to defend Sane after the game. Thomas Muller also admitted that it is just a matter of time before Sane gets back to his best. The veteran German forward also insisted that he enjoys playing with Sane.

Bayern Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic also requested fans to be patient with Sane. He insisted that the club is supporting him to get the best out of him, and there is no doubt that he will be playing to his full potential soon. Considering the transfer fee for Sane, these questions are always going to pop up whenever he is going through a poor run of form.

In his post-match press conference, Hansi Flick explained that other forwards were doing better in the game, so he had to withdraw Sane for Jamal Musiala. It was purely a tactical change to give his team the best possible chance of winning all three points.

Sane enjoyed a great start to time in Bavaria by scoring on his Bundesliga debut against Schalke. However, he suffered a knee injury in October that kept him out for four weeks. Since his return from injury, Flick has managed his workload to avoid more setbacks. Sane has shown glimpses of his talent, so sooner rather than later, he will be able to attain consistency in his performances, and Bayern’s patient approach will pay off.