Bayern Munich: Five takeaways from 5-0 win over Stuttgart

Bayern Munich won their final away fixture of the calendar year with a dominant display against Stuttgart. The defending Bundesliga champions scored four second-half goals to pull away from the hosts to win by a final score of 5-0. The victory will see Bayern remain in first place entering the final matchday before the winter break begins. Here are five takeaways from the massive away victory.

Serge Gnabry leads the way

It was a terrific performance from Serge Gnabry on Tuesday night as he scored three goals and registered two assists. The winger was the unquestionable top performer of the match as he was involved in all five of Bayern’s goals.

Gnabry’s hat-trick performance sees him increase his goal total in the Bundesliga this season to nine goals. He needs just one more goal in the current term to register his sixth consecutive season of ten goals or more in the German top-flight.

This season looks like it could be the best campaign of his career thus far in terms of goals. His career-best goal total in the Bundesliga was recorded in the 2019/20 season when he scored 12 goals in 31 appearances. With nine goals already scored in 16 appearances this season, it’s looking like he will easily surpass that career-best number if he can produce more goals in the coming months.

First away clean sheet

This was the first away clean sheet Bayern has recorded in the Bundesliga so far this season. Although Stuttgart registered quite a large number of shots with 13 being recorded, only one of those 13 shots was on target. The lack of shots on target made life much easier for Manuel Neuer as he only had one save in the match.

Bayern’s total number of clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season stands at five. They need five more to better last season’s tally of nine clean sheets. Bayern will be looking to get back to recording double-digit clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season as last season was the first time since the 2010/11 campaign that they did not record ten clean sheets or more.

Another brace for Robert Lewandowksi

For the fifth time this season in the Bundesliga, Lewandowksi scored two goals or more for Bayern in a single match. His two goals against Stuttgart increased his season goal tally in the league to 18 goals as he continues to lead the league in scoring.

The big statistic of the match involving Lewandowski was that he tied the legendary Gerd Muller for most goals scored in a calendar year in the German top-flight. With 42 goals scored in 2021, he needs just one more goal to set a new record. He will get the opportunity to set a new record against Wolfsburg on Friday.

Marc Roca gets his first start

Roca earned his first start of the Bundesliga season and went on to have a stellar outing. The Spaniard recorded three tackles and two interceptions. Additionally, he completed 91.8% of his passes and rarely gave the ball away in the midfield. With Bayern playing with reduced numbers in the midfield, Roca stepped up when he was called upon to rotate into the starting role and he performed very well.

Thomas Muller continues to record assists

Muller continues to have an incredible season when it comes to setting up goals. The 32-year-old recorded his 12th assist of the season in the match against Stuttgart. With 12 assists in 16 appearances, Muller is on pace to have a career-best assist total in the German top-flight. His best assist total was during the 2019/20 campaign when he finished with 21 assists, which is also the league record for assists in a single season.

According to OptaFranz, Muller is the first player to ever record 12 assists in the first half of a Bundesliga season since detailed data collection in 2004/05. This sums up his first half of the season performance quite well as he is on the path to a record-setting season.