Round-Up: Player of the Month October
November 3, 2018 Usually when the Pole has been distinguished in our Blog, as was the case in February 2017, it is mostly because of his strong goal ratio. Last month however, the 30-year-old reminded us all once again that he is more than a goalscorer.
Durable and reliable
To start with however, we will take a look at his statistics for the month. In October, Lewandowski played five of the six games for the Munich team for a total of 444 minutes. Only against Athens was he taken off the pitch shortly before the final whistle by Kovač.
This quality should not be underestimated. He almost always available for his manager and usually for the full ninety minutes. Only goalkeeper Neuer, the Duracell bunny Kimmich and diesel locomotive Thiago have collected more time in the Bayern squad than Lewandowski. It is also remarkable that this wear is rarely, or not at all, noticeable in his play.
In the five games, he collected just as many scorer points and was notably involved in all three goals in an important 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg. For the 1:0, he showed himself to be an ice-cold executor who put away a great interface pass from Hummels expertly. This goal also ended his “mini crisis” of 251 minutes without a goal. For the 2-0, he proved his talent as a real striker, anticipating a bad pass from William and tucking it away into an empty goal. Finally to make it 3:1, he set up an exemplary goal for James.
Tireless worker in attack
This final goal to make it 3:1 in Wolfsburg is also a good way to describe everything that the Pole brings to the pitch. These qualities are what undoubtedly puts him ahead of Wagner or former strikers like Gomez and Toni.
Lewandowski gets the ball from Thiago at the edge of the penalty area. The most successful foreign goalscorer in a Munich jersey has his back to the defense. Directly behind him are two Wolfsburg defenders, Brooks and Rousillion. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old can shield and hold the ball without any problems. This is an important quality for a central player who is so often sought after and who has to secure the ball.
The ball barely bounces off his foot and with a short turn, holding his head up, he has lost Brooks. Now he notices James breaking through on the right and plays the ball steeply into the Colombian’s path, so that only he can reach it. Unfortunately, this chance could not be taken by the Bayern number 11 and was turned safely into the short corner.
Lewandowski’s passing skills make him an integral part of the Bayern offensive. In the game against Mainz, Lewandowski is remembered for his outstanding, opening pass to Süle, with which the entire Mainz back line was taken out of the game.
Apart from that, he was seen travelling long distances in the carnival city to challenge the ball and get it from deep zones. These movements are important to reduce the inherent static in the Bayern game. Here again, the short passes or the passing of the ball are important skills.
The Poland international must be supported by the high eights in the box to give him the necessary freedom for his interpretation of the offensive game. This must be a priority for Kovač in the coming weeks.
Links of the week:
Davies set to depart Whitecaps but faces battle to crack elite Bayern lineup | Matthew Black | CBC News
Exclusive training clubs European rankings | CIES Football Observatory
Current Miasanrot-Articles
Miasanrot roundtable: Mailbag October 2018 | Marc
Far from pretty, but effective: Three takeaways from Bayern’s tight win in Mainz | Rick
Where’s the six appeal at FC Bayern | Justin | Dennis
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