Bayern Munich Are Too Reliant On Robert Lewandowski

Bayern Munich Are Too Reliant On Robert Lewandowski
10:16, 08 Nov 2017

Everything at Bayern Munich is back to normal. Since Jupp Heynckes returned to the Bavarian club they’ve gone on to win seven out of seven games, notching up an impressive 17 goals all while reclaiming their spot at the top of the Bundesliga table.

Yet just underneath the red and blue paint that glistens from this German juggernaut is a slight crack. One that could be dealt enough pressure to turn into something serious and possibly clinical at any moment. That crack is Robert Lewandowski and the simple fact that Bayern are entirely and utterly reliant on him to score their goals.

Although the German champions disposed of Dortmund last weekend through goals from Arjen Robben and David Alaba, the aforementioned striker - who scored the second of three goals that day - picked up his 15th goal of the season. His closest competitor is central defender Mats Hummels and right-back Joshua Kimmich, who both have three.

Indeed Lewandowski’s goals in the league amount to 41 percent of Bayern’s total and were directly responsible for results against Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin. As the season rumbles on that dependency will only grow.

Due to the Polish international’s seemingly unwavering health and fitness, Bayern have seen little need to actively pursue a costly and somewhat needless back-up to Lewandowski. Yet aside from Thomas Muller, who has struggled to find any form in the past year, Bayern have absolutely no alternatives to place up front.

This became all too apparent in a recent Champions League clash with Celtic, which Bayern had to contest without their star forward. Heynckes reshuffled his squad and played James Rodriguez as the make-shift striker yet if not for a fortunate mistake from the Celtic defence in the first half and a header from central-midfielder Javi Martinez Bayern could have quite easily drawn or even lost on the night.

They may have claimed all three points with a 2-1 win but very little was offered on the night to suggest Heynckes or the club had the faintest idea of how to replace Lewandowski if he was out for a considerable stretch of time. Celtic are one thing, but better teams in Germany and Europe offer a far bigger task when their target man isn’t leading the line.

Lewandowski doesn’t seem to get injured - he’s only missed four games through injury in the past three seasons - so perhaps this is all hyperbole and simple scaremongering. But if he does, Bayern are in serious trouble.

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