Bundesliga
Robert Lewandowski scored his 27th and 28th goals of the campaign while a Sebastian Griesbeck own goal and a late Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting strike helped Bayern Munich to a come-from-behind win against Greuther Fürth.
Bayern Munich 4-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 0-1 Hrgota 42', 1-1 Lewandowski 46', 2-1 Griesbeck (o.g.) 61', 3-1 Lewandowski (assist: Süle) , 4-1 Choupo-Moting 90'+1 (assist: Gnabry)
Stunned by a 4-2 loss against Bochum last time out, Bayern were determined to avoid successive slip-ups against promoted sides with basement boys Fürth in town. There may have been 39 points separating the sides in the table prior to this Matchday 23 encounter yet the teams' respective returns since the turn of the year had been surprisingly similar, the Clover Leaves having picked up eight points to Bayern's nine in 2022. Home supporters were understandably concerned, then, when Jamie Leweling raced through on goal with just eleven minutes on the clock. Sven Ulreich made the save, and Leweling would later be flagged for offside, but the visitors had posted their warning. The hosts rescued a 1-1 draw against Salzburg in the Champions League during the week, and they were sluggish in attack early on in their Bundesliga return. Losing Corentin Tolisso to injury midway through the half didn't help, but worse would later follow for the defending champions when the in-form Branimir Hrgota found the net with a free-kick that deflected in off Marcel Sabitzer.
Facing a tricky half-time team talk, coach Julian Nagelsmann may have pointed to the fact that this Bayern team always manage to score. They had, after all, done so in 69 of their previous games in the Bundesliga, a record they would extend immediately after the break. Not only is Lewandowski the leading marksman in the division this season, he now also leads the way this year with nine goals in six and his straightforward finish from close range 30 seconds after the restart meant Bayern were back in business. It was just the lift the hosts needed. They soon went in search of more and were ahead just after the hour mark when Griesbeck inadvertently diverted in a Thomas Müller cross. In their chase to produce a great relegation escape, Stefan Leitl's men had enjoyed two wins from their last three games. Showing more of that fighting spirit, they came back at Bayern, twice hitting the woodwork through Max Christiansen and Marco Meyerhöfer. Yet for all of their efforts, Fürth - like so many other teams - couldn't tame Lewandowski and the prolific Pole took his season's tally to 28 with a clever header, before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added shine to a result that keeps Bayern in command at the top of the standings.
Watch: Nagelsmann: “We were brilliant in the second half”
Bayern: Ulreich - Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez (Süle 53'), Richards (Maxim Choupo-Moting 46') - Kimmich, Tolisso (Gnabry 25'), Sabitzer (Roca 87') - Müller (c), Sane (Wanner 87') – Lewandowski
Unused subs: Früchtl, Nianzou, M. Tillman, Musiala
Out: Coman (muscular), Davies (heart), Goretzka (knee), Neuer (knee)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
Fürth: Linde - Meyerhöfer, Griesbeck, Viergever, Itter - Seguin (Green 69'), Christiansen, T. Tillman - Dudziak (Nielsen 22') - Leweling (Bauer 62'), Hrgota (c) (Pululu 69')
Unused subs: Burchert, Willems, Asta, Raschl, Abiama
Out: Funk (knee), Jung (knee), Kehr (knee), Ngankam (knee)
Coach: Stefan Leitl
Watch: Hrgota: “We have to keep fighting”