Berlin (AFP)

A quadruple from Robert Lewandowski allowed Bayern Munich, visibly very blunt in September, to snatch in added time a 4-3 victory against Hertha Berlin, Sunday behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena.

This result leaves Bayern one point behind leaders Leipzig, Augsburg and Frankfurt (7 pts) after three days.

Bayern led 2-0, then 3-2, before pulling back each time to finally win 4-3 in the 93rd minute from the penalty spot.

The team have conceded nine goals in one week, in their last three official matches.

"We saw that not everyone is 100%", admitted coach Hansi Flick, "we are missing a few percent right now, but what made me happy is the state spirit that we have shown ".

"It was a painstaking victory," admitted midfielder Leon Goretzka, "after the successes we've been celebrating recently, maybe we're taking our foot off the accelerator a little too soon."

Even tired, physically or mentally, Bayern has life insurance: Robert Lewandowski.

Sacred Thursday night UEFA player of the year, the Pole has once again shown that he is not only an exceptional scorer, but also that he is never affected by the slack of his team.

- Hellish calendar -

Faced with a hellish schedule, with five matches in two weeks and a busy schedule until the end of the year, Hansi Flick had taken some risks to rest his affected or tired executives.

Thus Sané (injured) and Coman were not in the group, Pavard, Süle, Tolisso were on the bench at kick-off, while the young American Chris Richards, 20, was established as a right defender.

But the European champions, since their extension on September 24 in the European Supercup against Sevilla (2-1) do not seem to have recovered.

Last Sunday, they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat in Hoffenheim, their first since December 2019.

Their victory in the German Supercup 3-2 against Dortmund on Wednesday was a given, but we could see that the legs were heavy.

Against Berlin, everything had started well.

After a goal denied by both sides early in the match for offside spotted by the VAR, the inevitable Lewandowski fired.

- Choupo-Moting and Sarr expected -

He first resumed without control in the area a center back from Serge Gnabry (1-0, 40th), before succeeding in one of his "specials", the pivot shot at ground level, to place the ball in an impossible angle for the opposing goalkeeper (2-0, 51st).

At 2-0, no one would have given Hertha dear.

Wrongly.

The Colombian Jhon Cordoba (59th) then the Brazilian Matheus Cunha (71st), brought Berlin back to equality.

Lewandowski, again, believed to give the three points to Berlin in the 85th minute (3-2), but Jessic Ngankam again equalized in the 88th minute.

The draw would have been well deserved for Hertha, but Lewandowski is one of those players who are changing the fortunes of their team.

Victim of an obvious foul in the area in added time, he left it to no one to do justice on the penalty spot: 4-3, and three precious points, on the clock but also on morale for Bayern, who has to worry about in the coming weeks if its executives do not manage to freshen up.

In terms of good news, the club announced on Sunday the arrival of a reinforcement, the Spanish midfielder Marco Roca (Espanyol Barcelona), and the press announces the imminent signing of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Paris SG) and by Bouna Sarr (Marseille).

© 2020 AFP