Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane: "I'm not at 100 percent yet"
Leroy Sane says he is yet to return to full fitness despite starring in Bayern Munich's thumping 8-0 opening night win over Schalke on Friday, with defending champions' new No.10 scoring one and assisting two more.
Sane, 24, made his Bundesliga bow for Bayern at the Allianz Arena against the side who handed him his professional debut back in April 2014.
The Germany international contributed to three of Bayern's eight goals in a record opening day victory for the record top-flight champions, who became the first team to score more than six goals in the first game of a season in Bundesliga history. All that while not being at his best, according to the wing wizard himself.
"The team is still hungry," Sane told ZDF after the win. "Such a start against Schalke is of course great. I always want to go full throttle, but I'm not yet at 100 percent."
It was the first time Bayern fans have seen their superstar summer signing in action and despite him not yet being fully fit, the former Manchester City star played a pivotal role in the victory during his 72 minute-debut.
All three of his direct goal contributions were a showcase of Sane's electrifying pace, which may rival that of Bundesliga speed record holder Alphonso Davies having reached a game-high speed of 21.6mph (34.8 km/h) on Friday night. His first assist came after latching onto Thomas Müller's long pass, before Sane beat two defenders and laid the ball off for Serge Gnabry to complete his brace.
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Just 12 minutes later and Sane had his second assist, helping Gnabry to complete his maiden Bundesliga hat-trick. His running speed proved impossible for the Schalke defence to handle once again as he latched onto a through ball before cutting back past Ozan Kabak and finding Gnabry in space.
And Sane capped off his debut with a goal of his own, racing onto Joshua Kimmich's long pass through the Royal Blue defence to go one-on-one with Ralf Fährmann. Sane slowed down to supply a cool finish in front of goal before being substituted to end his magical maiden outing.
"It felt very, very good to finally play football with the boys," Sane continued, speaking to DAZN. "It was a very good day, a good game, lots of goals. We didn't let anything burn out. I'm very happy."
After such a blockbuster start to the season, the question now is how long Bayern can continue their blistering run? It's 31 matches unbeaten under Hansi Flick now, winning 22 games in succession during that run. The Bayern head coach spoke after the victory and called upon Sane and Co. to let this game be a benchmark for the season.
"We have had our first game but we need to take things slowly," Flick said in the post-match press conference. "We played brilliantly but should have scored two, three, maybe four more goals in the first half.
"But it was important to show that we are on the right track this season as well. I'm very satisfied with the performance. This is now a benchmark for both Gnabry and Sane and the whole team."
Related news
Vote for your Bundesliga Team of the Season!
Pick your best XI from our list of 40 nominees to win exclusive prizes!
Thomas Tuchel: "It's a privilege to coach Harry Kane"
The Bayern boss spoke exclusively to bundesliga.com about all things Harry Kane, Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer, as well as the late Franz Beckenbauer's impact on the club.
Slick Sané tops assists charts
Leroy Sané currently leads the standings when it comes to assists in the Bundesliga, but there are five challengers hot on the heels of the Bayern No.10.