Bundesliga
Coutinho: "Lewy's even better up close than on TV!"
Bayern Munich summer signing Philippe Coutinho has hailed teammate Robert Lewandowski following his match-winning display in the 3-0 win away to Schalke on Saturday.
Coutinho made his debut for Niko Kovac's side after signing a season-long loan deal from Barcelona, replacing Thomas Müller in the 57th minute of the game at the Veltins Arena.
Bayern were 2-0 up at that point, Lewandowski having scored a penalty and a free-kick to set the reigning Bundesliga champions on course for victory.
The Polish forward completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes to go, turning his marker on the edge of the box before rifling a low drive past Alexander Nübel.
Watch: Coutinho discusses new teammate Lewandowski
Asked about Lewandowski's performance after the final whistle, Coutinho was all smiles. "He's incredible, just world-class," the Brazilian told reporters.
"It's incredible, the way he trains. I've been here a week and watching him up close he's so much better than you think on TV. He had a great game today, a great hat-trick and he deserves it."
Lewandowski's haul, which was his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick, took him to the top of the scoring charts this season with five goals from two games. That tally represents a personal best for the player and a feat not achieved in Germany's top flight since Roy Makaay did the same for Bayern in the 2005/06 season.
Up next for the 31-year-old goal machine: a home game with Mainz, against whom he has scored 14 goals in 14 appearances. Coutinho might need to think of some different superlatives...