Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola complimented his team on their performance against Wolfsburg on Saturday, with the game coming just four days after an intense Champions League battle in Turin.
The Bavarian giants were extremely impressive in the first half of their midweek Champions League Round of 16 clash against Juventus, but conceded sloppy goals in the second half to throw away a 2-goal lead.
However, Guardiola’s men shrugged off the midweek collapse and put in another solid display away from home against one of the better sides in the Bundesliga in VfL Wolfsburg.
The prodigious Kingsley Coman, who joined the German side on a two-year loan deal from Juventus, gave Bayern Munich the lead in the 66th minute, before Robert Lewandowski made the points safe eight minutes later. It was the Polish striker’s sixth goal against Dieter Hecking’s men this season, following his record-breaking five-goal haul in the previous meeting between the two sides this campaign.
Manager Pep Guardiola was understandably delighted with his charges, saying after the game (via FourFourTwo): “Big compliment for the team. We knew it would be difficult to play in Wolfsburg four days after Juventus. It was a step forward again.”
The win gives Bayern an 11-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, but Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund can cut it to eight points with a win over Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Are Bayern Munich headed for a record points haul?
With the win against Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich now have 62 points from 23 games — a truly remarkable record. It was Jupp Heynckes’ 2012-2013 Bayern side who set the record for highest number of points in a Bundesliga season at 91, and Pep Guardiola has an opportunity to surpass that in his last few months at the club.
The away fixture at Wolfsburg was one of Bayern’s toughest remaining games on paper, and in the 11 matches that remain, arguably the Bavarians’ only difficult games come against Dortmund and third-placed Hertha Berlin away from home.
Guardiola’s men still have 33 points to fight for, and need 30 to set the record. Although achievable if Bayern truly set their minds to it, the Champions League is likely to take precedence once the league is mathematically beyond Dortmund’s reach.
The German giants have been unstoppable this season, but Heynckes’ record could well remain intact.
