bundesliga

Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller into the annals as Bayern Munich thrash Wolfsburg

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Robert Lewandowski set a new Bundesliga goals record, while Thomas Müller marked his 400th Bundesliga appearance with a goal and assist as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over Wolfsburg in their final game of 2021.

Bayern Munich 4-0 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 Müller (7'), 2-0 Upamecano 57' (assist: Müller), 3-0 Sane 59' (assist: Gnabry), 4-0 Lewandowski 87' (assist: Musiala)

Lewandowski had the first sight of the Wolfsburg goal, but couldn't get his shot away. Leroy Sane made Koen Casteels work with Bayern's next effort, the Germany international's stinging strike palmed out only as far as the unmarked Müller, who was never going to miss from inside the six-yard area. Wolfsburg could - and perhaps should - have levelled from the restart, but Wout Weghorst could not beat Manuel Neuer in a presentable one-on-one. After Jamal Musiala dragged an effort past the upright and Lewandowski headed at Casteels, Weghorst was guilty of spurning further opportunities to equalise, screwing wide with one and shooting straight at Neuer with the other.

If Wolfsburg were still in the game at the start of the second half, they were out of it by the hour-mark. Casteels kept the scoreline at 1-0 with a strong save to thwart Musiala, but was beaten twice in quick succession soon after. Dayot Upamecano glanced in a Müller cross following a short corner routine, before Sane curled in a third from the corner of the area with Arjen Robben-level precision. Sebastiaan Bornauw went within a whisker of pulling a goal back, but couldn't apply the necessary touch to Luca Waldschmidt's free-kick. Having screwed wide and found the outstretched leg of Casteels, Lewandowski put the icing on the cake with a calendar-year-record 43rd Bundesliga goal, smashing in Musiala's clever knock-down late on as the champions moved nine points clear at the top at the mid-point of the season.

Match stats

  • Müller has produced 133 goals and 151 assists in 400 Bundesliga appearances.
  • Wolfsburg are Lewandowski’s favourite opponents. The 33-year-old has scored 24 goals in 21 Bundesliga games against them, including his unforgettable five-goal haul in nine minutes in September 2015.
  • Upamecano registered his first Bundesliga goal since joining Bayern in the summer. He netted four times across two-and-a-half seasons with RB Leipzig.
  • Bayern have scored at least once in 64 successive Bundesliga matches. Sixty-five is the record.
  • The record champions have won 39 of their 49 Bundesliga meetings with Wolfsburg, including 12 of the last 13 (plus one draw). They have never lost at home to the Wolves (W23, D2).
  • The Wolves have just one point from their last six league games, which is the lowest total in the division.

Watch: Davies: "Robert Lewandowski's on the top of his game"

Line-ups

Bayern: Neuer (c) – Pavard (Tillman 85'), Upamecano, Hernandez (Nianzou 80'), Davies (Richards 80') – Musiala, Roca (Sabitzer 75') – Gnabry (Sarr 80'), Müller, Sane – Lewandowski
Unused subs:
Ulreich, Früchtl, Cuisance
Out:
Choupo-Moting (match fitness), Coman (thigh), Goretzka (foot), Kimmich (lungs), Stanisic (thigh), Süle (back), Tolisso (muscular)
Coach:
Julian Nagelsmann

Wolfsburg: Casteels (c) – Lacroix, Bornauw, Brooks - Baku, Vranckx (Mbabu 87'), Arnold, Gerhardt – Steffen (F. Nmecha 57'), Weghorst, Waldschmidt (Guilavogui 72')
Unused subs:
Pervan, Van den Ven, Bialek, Ginczek
Out:
Mehmedi (muscular), Otavio (knee), Philipp (muscular), Roussillon (suspended), Schlager (knee), William (knee)
Coach:
Florian Kohfeldt

Watch: Kohfeldt: "Wolfsburg will be different in the second half of the season"