Leroy Sane reacts to Bayern Munich’s 4-1 win over Lazio in the Champions League

Bayern Munich shook off the brief rust from two consecutive Bundesliga matches without a win in their 4-1 win over Lazio in the first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League. Goals from Robert Lewandowski, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, and an own goal from Lazio’s Franceso Acerbi gave Bayern the massively important four away goals in Rome and Joaquin Correa’s goal for Lazio in the 49th minute proved to be nothing but a consolation despite coming early on in the second half.

This was arguably one of Bayern’s best performances of the season, especially considering the number of injuries and missing personnel due to coronavirus cases Hansi Flick has been faced to currently deal with. Sane was inspirational in the second half of Bayern’s 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt over the weekend and put forth a positive performance in Rome, with a goal to show for it. Speaking after the win over Lazio, Sane reflected on his side playing on the front foot and making the most of Lazio’s mistakes (Tz).

Bayern went up 1-0 inside of ten minutes thanks to Lewandowski pouncing on a mistake at the back from Lazio. “We were there from the first minute and wanted to set an example. It was a tough game, even if the air was a little out in the end,” Sane said. For his goal, the buildup was created by Kingsley Coman gaining possession as a result of a miscue from Lazio’s Patric and slotting home the rebound after Coman’s effort was saved by Pepe Reina. Alluding to Bayern’s game plan to press in the right moments, Sane said, “Hansi and the coaching team pointed out to us in advance that they would make mistakes if you put them under pressure. That worked right away with the first goal.”

Sane had been singled out earlier in the season for not coming back to help out defensively enough, or at least enough to Flick’s liking. It’s something he’s really worked on in recent weeks, but he still shines the most in attacking positions and he’s been continuing to show what he’s capable of going forward. Well aware of his positive impact in Rome, he said, “I’m an offensive player and want to set the tone up front. I want to help the team, but I’m not going crazy. Today, I played really well.”

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