October 21, (THEWILL) – Bayern Munich beat Benfica 4-0 thanks to a brace from Leroy Sane and a goal from Robert Lewandowski.
The result was harsh on the Portuguese giants, who had been in the game for a long time and forced Manuel Neuer into two fantastic saves before Sane curled a fantastic free kick home 20 minutes from time.
Before taking the lead, VAR narrowly overturned two close-range goals from Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, the first due to the ball striking the Polish striker’s arm and the second due to offside in the build-up.
Muller and Benjamin Pavard both had efforts deflected off the post, the latter following a fine Odisseas Vlachodimos save.
After substitute Serge Gnabry pulled the ball back from the by-line ten minutes from time, Everton headed into his own goal to double the lead. For the third, the former Arsenal winger found Sane in the box, who unselfishly squared the ball for Lewandowski to tap home.
Another substitute, Josip Stanisic, pulled back for Sane to slam home his second in the closing stages.
Bayern’s failure to reach the semi-finals last season was largely due to Robert Lewandowski’s absence, as they were defeated by PSG on away goals. They have looked so good this season that something otherworldly will almost certainly be required to prevent them from winning the trophy again this year.
With key players like Leon Goretzka and Alphonso Davies out, there was a chance they would struggle against a strong team in one of Europe’s most intimidating venues.
Though the game was far from one-sided, with Neuer making spectacular saves from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Goncalves, Bayern could have scored on a number of other occasions and finished with a lot more than just four goals.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
