Bayern Munich: Three things to watch for in trip to Freiburg
By Daniel Garza
Bayern Munich travels to Freiburg to play their final away fixture of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season. Having clinched a ninth consecutive German top-flight title last weekend, this match will not have an impact on the title race as it has already been decided.
However, Die Roten has the opportunity to make it two wins from two meetings against Freiburg this season. There’s also the possibility that a pair of Bundesliga records could fall in this match. Here are three things to watch ahead of Saturday’s match.
Robert Lewandowski looks to break the record
A hat-trick performance against Borussia Mönchengladbach has set up Lewandowski with the opportunity to break Gerd Muller’s single-season record of 40 goals. He will need to score two goals against Freiburg to set a new record.
The Polish striker recorded a goal when the two clubs first met this season in January and Lewandowski has scored in four of the last five league meetings against Freiburg. It’s been an incredible season for Lewandowski and he is thoroughly deserving of breaking the record if he does indeed surpass 40 goals on Saturday.
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Manuel Neuer on the verge of history
Lewandowski is not the only Bayern player in a position to set a new Bundesliga record on Saturday. Neuer’s clean sheet against Mönchengladbach put him on level terms with Oliver Kahn for the highest number of clean sheets recorded by a goalkeeper in Bundesliga history.
Both Bayern legends have a total of 204 clean sheets which means a clean sheet against Freiburg would allow Neuer to set a new record. This will be no easy task as Freiburg has scored at least one goal against Die Roten in each of their last five meetings. It would be a dream scenario if both Lewandowski and Neuer can set these records in the same match.
Serge Gnabry nearing ten goals
With nine goals scored so far in the Bundesliga this season, Gnabry is just one goal away from recording a fifth consecutive season of ten goals or more in the German top flight. The winger could become Rekordmeister’s third player to reach double-digit numbers in goal scoring in the current Bundesliga campaign.
The German winger would join Thomas Muller and Lewandowski who are at 11 and 39 goals entering this weekend. If Gnabry scores a tenth goal, it will be the first time since the 2014/15 Bundesliga campaign that Die Roten will have three players record ten goals or more in the same season.