Leroy Sané the prime topic among players and pundits alike after Bayern Munich’s dramatic win

Bayern Munich’s 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen was exhilarating and left many players joyous about the result. As cameras caught after the game, however, Leroy Sané was receiving some encouragement from Thomas Müller as the two walked off the pitch.

In the postgame media frenzy, several members of the club addressed the struggling and frustrated winger (as captured by Tz).

“The young guy is really great, he was injured for a long time,” said Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić of his prized transfer. “He also wants more from himself. The team will help him. I am certain, I totally believe in him. He has qualities that we can hopefully show in the first game of the new year.”

Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Sané’s teammates were equally supportive.

“I think it’s difficult to measure an offensive player by the number of tackles he wins,” said Thomas Müller. “I don’t know why he was taken out. Hansi Flick must have had reasons. I have to say, I really enjoy playing with him. It won’t be that long before we’ll talk about Leroy in a different way. He has to draw motivation from it.”

Robert Lewandowski agreed.

“He needs time after his injury. In the new year, he will show his quality,” said Lewandowski, who scored a brace. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him, he’s a great guy.”

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, talked through the decision to bring Sané in for Coman and then remove him from the game later. It should be noted that Flick’s substitutions of Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich for Sané and Corentin Tolisso ignited the team and balanced the squad’s performance.

“It was not the ‘ultimate punishment’,” said Flick. “In this situation I had to make a change. I could have replaced either Thomas Müller, Serge Gnabry or Leroy. Thomas is almost too important for our system and Serge had improved enormously in the second half. So, I had to take Leroy out. Ultimately, the team has to be successful, then the individual has to take a step into the background. We support him in every way.”

As for the media, Sky’s Lothar Matthäus was already questioning Sané entering the game and Sané’s performance did nothing to alleviate the German legend’s concerns.

“We are talking about a German national player here,” said Matthäus. “After all, he’s not injured and he’s not happy with himself either. Hansi Flick was right to substitute him off again. That’s not the kind of player that strengthens Bayern Munich. He needs to work on himself and also on the defensive side. Hansi has already told Sané that a few times in the last two or three weeks. Today was a clear lesson.”