On Robert Lewandowski’s return to Bavaria in the Champions League on Tuesday, Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 2-0 thanks to two goals in three minutes of the second half, including a beautiful chip from Leroy Sane.
Lucas Hernandez, a French defender for Bayern, knocked in a corner to give the home team the lead, but Sane put the game beyond question. Sane, a former Manchester City attacker, helped them turn around a contest that was heavily in favor of Barca after a frenzied first half and was won 2-0 by Bayern in their Champions League opener at Inter Milan.
Bayern Beats Barca Again
Three minutes after Munich’s Hernandez headed in a corner from Joshua Kimmich to open the scoring, the German forward netted Munich’s second in the 54th minute by chipping the ball over Catalan goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
Lewandowski had many chances to start the scoring after receiving strong cheers from the home crowd during the pregame warmup.
Given his success here, Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said, “I think for Lewy it was an emotional game to come back – a little bit like coming home.” In the 19th minute, Lewandowski pounced on a dipping pass from Pedri but shot too high, barely clearing the top of the crossbar. One minute later, the Poland attacker once more received the ball barely yards from Bayern’s goal, but Manuel Neuer saved his header at close range.
After joining Leeds in the summer, Raphinha started his debut Champions League match. After 27 minutes, the Brazilian striker hammered a low shot past a stranded Neuer, but the Brazilian missed the goal by an inch.
Alphonso Davies hauled down Ousmane Dembele on the edge of the cell during the last seconds of the first half, but referee Danny Makkelie rejected Barcelona’s demands for a penalty despite replays demonstrating the Canadian’s contact with the Frenchman’s knees.
