Daily Schmankerl: Robert Lewandowski is a “madman”; Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka goes into his past; Philippe Coutinho injured; Is Pep Guardiola unraveling at Manchester City?; and MORE!

Lewandowski a “madman” (Sport1)

Ewald Lienen is the technical director at FC St. Pauli and he believes that Robert Lewandowski’s willingness to take a seat every now and again with Bayern Munich will have him competing at a high level for an extended period of time.

“His job description does not include running back to his own sixteen, as it was with Mario Mandzukic,” said Lienen. “I don’t think his individual mileage is so huge that he’ll get into a crisis. He also has good players around him.”

Sport1’s Marcel Reif has his own take on Lewandowski’s overall prowess.

“You can’t look at it under normal standards,” says Reif. “He’s a madman like Cristiano Ronaldo.”

A madman, indeed. Hopefully Polish Hitman can put a few more notched on his tally sheet today against Lokomotiv Moscow.

Goretzka gives us his version of “How it’s going” (@leongoretzka_)

One of the more popular and funnier meme crazes of 2020 — and there have been plenty of them — has been the “How it started / How it’s going” phenomenon that seemingly swept through all of Twitter.

Honestly, if we had participated in this as a BFW staff, the pictures would have been quite interesting (and some probably NSFW), but Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka got in on the action to give fans a little look at his beginning and, of course, how things are progressing:

Coutinho out for Barca (beIN Sport)

Former Bayern Munich treble-winner and current FC Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho probably wishes he had an extended stay in Germany. Not only is Barca scuffling, but the 28-year-old Brazil international also picked up a hamstring injury, which is expected to sideline him for an undisclosed amount of time:

The Brazil international played the full game as Madrid prevailed 3-1 at Camp Nou, leaving Barca languishing in the bottom half of the table. Coutinho completed 84 percent of his passes but failed to create a chance in the game, while just one of his five shots ended up being on target. He has started four of the five LaLiga games played so far in Ronald Koeman’s reign, including scoring Barcelona’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Sevilla on October 4.

However, the 28-year-old – who spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Bayern Munich, helping them secure a treble – is set for a spell on the sidelines, although Barca did not reveal how long he will be out. “Tests on Sunday morning have revealed that Philippe Coutinho has a left biceps femoris (hamstring) injury,” a short statement from the club read. “Exactly how long that means he will be out of action depends on how the injury evolves. Coutinho’s injury is a blow ahead of a midweek trip to Turin for a crucial Champions League clash with Group G rivals Juventus.

Maybe, ol’ Phil needed to work in some stretching with all of the power-lifting that he’s been doing.

Pep unraveling? (Sport1)

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is pretty polarizing. Many adore his coaching style and success, while others maintain he is a “bald charlatan” (not my words). For those who think Pep is a fraud, this will probably be an enjoyable read.

Recently, the former Bayern Munich manager lamented his teams early struggles and didn’t seem to have a tactical response for why Man City isn’t in its normal dominant form.

“We have already lost seven points, which is a lot,” said Guardiola, who was angry that West Ham played a defensive system after a 1-1 draw between the two clubs. “You had a lot of players in the box. Your defenders defended so deeply that it is difficult to find spaces, but we had the chances. I would rather have results, but I also have to analyze the state of affairs. We have problems because of the many injuries, the lack of preparation and the lack of recovery time between the incredibly tough games.”

I come from the thought process that Pep is a good coach, but can be a narcissist and attention hog at times. I also come from the thought process that I will NEVER use someone being bald to insult them (mostly for fear that my own hair would immediately fallout and I would instantly look like Uncle Fester). So, while he might be a charlatan (not my words!), I won’t slander the bald community! I have hair (for now...even though Ineednoname recently assumed I had none!) and I intend to keep it that way!

(Somewhere Larry David nods in agreement)

Draxler to Milan? (Transfer Market Web)

Speaking of polarizing figures (at least in these parts), Paris Saint-Germain midfielder and Germany international Julian Draxler is reportedly drawing interest from AC Milan, despite interest from Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin, and Leeds United:

According to Sevilla FC-based issue La Colina de Nervión, German international midfielder/winger Julian Draxler (27) is getting more and more likely to join AC Milan. Possibly leaving PSG in January, after four seasons in, former Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg player, previously close to join Rojiblancos themselves, was inquired about by Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin and Leeds United during last market window, as well as having been linked to a move back to Wolfsburg themselves.