Bayern Munich: Lewandowski’s spot kick clinches win against Augsburg
By Isaac Rivers
On Matchday 29 of the Bundesliga season, league leaders Bayern Munich took on their neighbors to the west, FC Augsburg. After a very flat performance in their 1-0 loss against Villareal in their midweek Champions League match, Bayern was looking to set things straight in this matchup against a bottom-half Augsburg.
Die Roten started the game with a very great opportunity just two minutes in. Serge Gnabry was sent charging down the left sideline, delivering a rocketing cross into the box but unfortunately had too much pace on it to find the head of striker Robert Lewandowski. Despite a quick start, it was a quiet affair for the rest of the game.
After an early spark from Die Roten, Augsburg came up with the next big moment in the game. Nicking the ball away from a poor pass, striker Andre Hahn charged forward towards the goal. Backtracking with great pace, Dayot Upamecano put in a perfectly timed tackle to avoid the shot.
Augsburg continued to grow in the game, Benjamin Pavard made a last-ditch tackle to stop the visitors from scoring the opening goal. It was Augsburg’s Estephan Vargas charging at goal but was cut out by a sliding Pavard– who unfortunately came away with a slight knock.
The first half rounded out with a Bayern freekick which stemmed from a poor tackle on Lewandowski just outside of the penalty box. Setting up for the kick, Lewandowski tried a quick 1-2 with Thomas Muller but was immediately cut out by the Augsburg defense.
The second half turned into a world-class performance for Augsburg’s keeper Rafal Gikiewicz. Right from the start of the second half, the Bayern forwards were putting pressure in the final third, delivering shots and crosses into the box every couple of minutes.
A shot from Joshua Kimmich in the 62nd minute drew the best save of the game from Gikiewicz with a rocket from distance. To show the true effort that Bayern was finally putting in, the next ten minutes to follow saw a barrage of shots. A header from Pavard was sent just over the bar, and as soon as the ball was brought back into play it was Kingsley Coman’s turn to try for goal, immediately followed by an attempt from the youngster, Jamal Musiala. Unfortunately, both shots went narrowly wide.
It was not until the 82nd minute that the match finally received its decisive moment. A Reece Oxford handball saw none other than Robert Lewandowski step up to the penalty spot. After a quick stutter and a hop, Bayern Munich finally broke the deadlock. As the game rolled to an end, it was clear that Bayern was far more focused during the final 30 minutes, delivering a crushing eight shots in that time.
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Bayern Munich will be looking to carry that momentum and focus into their Champions League tie against Villareal, where they are one goal down in aggregate. It won’t be an easy game, but Die Roten should be looking to deliver a much more composed display.