Olympiacos 2-3 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich were in the midst of a slump ahead of their trip to Greece, but they successfully snapped their recent two-game slide thanks to Robert Lewandowski.
The superstar striker has been in sensational form this season, and he bagged another brace to help the Bavarians get a 3-2 away win over a gritty Olympiacos side.
The German champions, who smashed Spurs in their most recent European outing, have now scored three wins out of three in the Champions League group stage and are all but secured a spot in the next round.
Bayern are once again among the tournament favourites according to the Champions League 2019 odds, and with their top striker in great form, they have the ability to make another run at the title.
Highlights of the game
The big Champions League 2019 news for Bayern was the return of Thomas Muller to the starting line-up. The German international had lost his regular place this season, but he got the start after some recent comments.
Meanwhile, summer signings Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard were the central defensive partnership after Niklas Sule suffered a serious knee injury against Augsburg in the weekend.
That makeshift Bayern defence was breached in the 23rd minute as the hosts took a shock lead. After a well-worked counterattack, Konstantinos Tsimikas delivered a delightful cross to Youssef El-Arabi, whose powerful header crossed over the line despite Manuel Neuer’s best efforts to keep it out.
The hosts were playing with a lot of confidence and went in search of a second goal. Tsimikas provided in another dangerous cross on the half-hour mark, and luckily for Bayern, Lucas Hernandez’s awkward touch sent the ball straight to Neuer’s arms instead of into his own net.
But it wasn’t long before Bayern levelled it all up. Lewandowski’s cushioned header from a Javi Martinez cross set up Muller for a volley, which Jose Sa did well to save. But the Olympiacos keeper could only push it toward the path of Lewandowski, who blasted the rebound into the roof of the net.
Bayern probably should have taken the lead just a few minutes later. Serge Gnabry found Philippe Coutinho with a brilliant ball inside the six-yard box, but the Brazilian somehow conspired to blaze his shot well over the bar from point-blank range.
Into the second half, Olympiacos had their own good chance to take the lead. Andreas Bouchalakis was unmarked for a header at the edge o the six-yard box, but he couldn’t quite get it on target.
The hosts had another chance off a corner just a few minutes later. This time, it was Guilherme who got on the end of a cross with a header, but again, he was unable to trouble Neuer.
Bayern’s defence then suffered yet another hit as Lucas Hernandez went down with an ankle injury and is expected to miss several weeks.
But Bayern were able to compose themselves and went ahead just after the hour mark. After a couple of headers inside the penalty area, the ball found its way to Lewandowski, who pounced like the poacher he is to poke home his second goal of the game.
The Greeks will feel aggrieved after it looked as if Lewandowski was offside, but the goal stood. And things would get worse for the hosts as Bayern would add to their lead.
Substitute Corentin Tolisso uncorked a beautiful curling strike from the edge of the penalty area, which sailed into the top corner. That goal all but sealed the win for the visitors.
But Olympiacos weren’t quite done yet as they pulled a goal back after just five minutes. Guilherme’s long-range effort took a fortuitous deflection off a Bayern defender’s arm, which completely wrong-footed Neuer.
Olympiacos had one final chance to grab an equaliser, but Daniel Podence’s effort went straight at Neuer. In the end, Bayern held on for a much-needed win to end their recent slump.
Key statistics
Bayern had the 17-10 advantage in terms of shots, with Coutinho accounting for six of them. Muller and Lewandowski finished with three shots each.
With his two goals, Lewandowski has kept up his remarkable goalscoring pace. He now has an astonishing 18 goals in 13 appearances for Bayern this season.
After failing to find the back of the net in the German Super Cup, he’s now scored in 12 consecutive matches.
What’s next?
Bayern will look to end their recent Bundesliga slump this weekend when they host newly promoted Union Berlin this weekend. The SBOBET odds for that match at the Allianz Arena should be significantly in Bayern’s favour.
As for Olympiacos, they have a big clash at home against fierce rivals AEK Athens.
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