Bayern frontline needs improvement despite win over City

Last season's Bundesliga striker Robert Lewandowski, brought in to boost their frontline, has yet to score in a competitive game for the Bavarians and on Wednesday the Poland international had his own share of missed opportunities.

Bayern frontline needs improvement despite win over City

(Reuters)





"We are happy with the winning start and the three points but obviously we could have scored much earlier and it may have turned out to be an easier game than it was," said captain Philipp Lahm.

"We had huge chances in the first half and over 90 minutes we had the far better opportunities to score."

Bayern needed a 90th minute goal from defender Jerome Boateng after they saw City keeper Joe Hart deny them on several occasions despite dominating the game and having close to 60 percent possession.

Apart from Hart, they also had their own finishing to blame for not taking an earlier lead with Thomas Mueller and Lewandowski, among other, firing into the side-netting from close range.

In their defence, a string of injuries have contributed to the Bavarians still looking for last season's explosiveness that led them to the domestic league and Cup double.

Winger Franck Ribery and playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger are still out injured and while new transfers Xabi Alonso and Mehdi Benatia add confidence at the back, their front line is still far from peaking.

World Cup fatigue among many of the Bayern players has also played its role in their less-than-spectacular start as well as the absences of Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez and Holger Badstuber through injuries.

"Not everything was super today but we fought until the end and we were then rewarded," scorer Boateng said.

The introduction of Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who had also been out injured for a few weeks, late in the game of Wednesday instantly added spark and pace down the wings and it was a move he started that eventually led to Boateng's winner.

It should be a different picture once coach Pep Guardiola has a full fit squad to choose from and Lewandowski breaks his goal drought with Roma and CSKA Moscow also in their Champions League group.

"What is very positive is that we carved out that many scoring chances," said Robben. "I think we are on the right track."





(This story was refiled to correct typo in intro)





(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world