Bayern beat Lewandowski’s Barca

LONDON (AP):

IT DOESN’T seem to matter which shirt Robert Lewandowski is wearing – Bayern Munich just keep getting the better of Barcelona either way.

Bayern extended their recent dominance over the Spanish giants with a 2-0 win in the Champions League yesterday to show they can cope quite well without Lewandowski, who left to join Barcelona in the off-season.

It started out as a friendly homecoming as Lewandowski walked down the familiar steps of the Allianz Arena players’ tunnel before kick-off, hugging every one of his former teammates along the way.

Bayern’s players didn’t extend the same level of hospitality once the game started.

After Lewandowski missed several good chances to score in the first half, Lucas Hernández and Leroy Sané scored within a five-minute span in the second as Bayern took control of Group C with two wins in two games.

“Luck wasn’t on his side,” Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. “For Lewi, it’s an emotional game, here, a bit like coming home. That’s why you’ve a lot of expectation as a forward, especially when you know the players. Of course, the defensive players also know Lewi and I as a goalkeeper do too.”

Sporting Lisbon also moved to six points in Group D after netting two late goals to beat Tottenham 2-0 at home. The other group game between Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt was marred by fan disturbances before kick-off, forcing riot police to intervene when opposing supporters launched flares and fireworks at each other. Frankfurt won the game 1-0, thanks to a first-half goal from Jesper Lindstrøm.

Liverpool needed an 89th-minute goal to get their first win of the European campaign. Joel Matip headed home a corner to give last year’s runner-up a 2-1 home win over Ajax, bouncing back from a 4-1 loss to Napoli in the opening round. Napoli’s game at Rangers was postponed until today because of limited police resources in Scotland following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

A period of silence was held before Liverpool’s game, while Bayern fans showed their displeasure with UEFA allowing the British monarch’s death to disrupt the schedule by holding up a banner reading: “Last minute match delays and bans because of a royal’s death? Respect fans!”

SAME OLD BAYERN

After losing 3-0 to Bayern in both group meetings last season – and with the 8-2 drubbing in the 2020 quarter-finals still fresh in memory – there was hope among Barcelona fans that things would be different with Lewandowski on their side.

Instead, it was just more of the same.

After the Poland striker was uncharacteristically wasteful in the first half, Hernandez did his best Lewandowski impression when the defender popped up at the near post to head home a corner in the 50th minute. It was the kind of goal his former teammate scored so many of during his Bayern career, when he netted 344 in eight years.

Sane’ then pulled off a great solo effort for the second just four minutes later, bursting into the area and rolling a calm finish inside the far post.

Barcelona had 18 shots at goal compared to the home team’s 13.

“If you fail to put chances away against a big rival like Bayern, you’ll end up paying,” Barça forward Pedri said.