Munich (Germany) (AFP)
Three days after the brutal dismissal of coach Niko Kovac, Bayern Munich qualified Wednesday for the knockout stages of the Champions League thanks to a 2-0 win against Olympiakos at the Allianz Arena.
With four wins in four games, the German champions are certain to finish at least second in group B, regardless of the result of Etoile Rouge-Tottenham (21:00).
Tense, unable to set the pace for most of the game, the Bavarians had to wait for a goal from the inevitable Robert Lewandowski, served by Kingsley Coman, the best man of the match, to break the resistance of the Greeks in the 69th minute, before Perisic nailed the coffin two minutes from the end.
Despite the return of Thomas Müller and Javi Martinez, and the ousting of Thiago Alcantara and Philippe Coutinho by interim coach Hansi Flick, Bayern has hardly convinced that during his outings of the month October. And he will have to find another tempo if he wants to win Saturday at home in the "Klassiker" of the Bundesliga against Dortmund.
While their leaders have "given themselves time" to find a new coach - the names of Wenger, Mourinho and Allegri circulate, among others - the players, they did not have this luxury: they had to face immediately their " responsibilities ", as Joshua Kimmich had admitted the day before the match.
- Pavard on the pole -
Despite their intrinsic superiority, the stars of Bayern have yet been far from expectations placed in them by their leaders, especially in the first period.
Except for Leon Goretzka (5th), who forced goalkeeper José Sa to a great break, they mostly monopolized the ball in vain. A shot from Serge Gnabry in the keeper's arms (16th) or a poor center from Kingsley Coman (18th) despite a very clean overflow illustrated this feeling of helplessness.
Opposite, the Olympiakos did not create a single opportunity, except when David Alaba, feverish, made a ball in the surface (16th), which could have been very expensive if the Greek attackers had been more dexterous .
Two flashes came to illuminate this gray first period: a personal exploit in the surface of Coman, which failed on the goalkeeper (34th), and a curious action, when a balloon made the billiards in the Greek surface between the head of Lewandowsi and the ear of Benjamin Pavard, before crashing on the pole (45th).
What did Hans-Flick, the former Kovac deputy, tell them at the break, and what they say is very popular in the locker room? Still, the people of Munich have returned to the lawn with better intentions.
- Decisive Coman -
More incisive in the duels, we saw that they tried to pack the match. But he always seemed to miss the tenth of a second needed to make a difference.
Until the 69th minute. Coman, who had forced Jose Sa to a spectacular parade a few minutes earlier, after a new slalom in the defense, this time served Lewandowski from the right. The Pole, now second best scorer in the Champions League with six goals, has resumed in an acrobatic position and in an impossible angle (1-0).
Coman then avoided anxiety for his team by superbly preparing the second goal, in the 88th minute: in the position of playmaker, he served his compatriot Corentin Tolisso in the race on the left, and the center of the former Lyonnais found Ivan Perisic (2-0, 89th). Handsome Flick coaching: Tolisso and Perisic came into play.
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