Leon Goretzka: Bayern Munich kept believing all the way back to the top

What a journey it has been. Bayern Munich have risen from the ashes — well, so much as a club of their caliber this season can experience, anyway — to reclaim a decisive first place in the Bundesliga table. And this time, there are no signs they’ll let go.

“We really wanted to get back to first place as quickly as possible,” said midfielder Leon Goretzka after his side’s 6-1 win over Werder Bremen (via @iMiaSanMia). “We had a crisis of results, we weren’t playing bad all the time. We kept believing and then the results came back. You can say that we’ve gotten into a good rhythm in the past few weeks.”

You can certainly say that again! When Bayern are in the mood, they’re hard to even slow down. A smattering of Bundesliga teams have scored goals numbering in the mid-20s through the first thirteen to fourteen Matchdays of 2022/23. Bayern are practically double that, at 47. And they’re doing this without the services of key players like Thomas Müller.

Challengers like Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund both lost in recent days; Union’s slip last weekend gave Bayern the top spot for the first time in many weeks. One gets the sense that the gap is about to widen.

For now, there’s one matchday left for Bayern in the Hinrunde — and three more points will still be required to ensure they end the season’s first half sitting comfortably atop the mountain.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends!

Interested in more analysis of the game? Why not check out our postgame podcast? We talk about Serge Gnabry’s amazing day, the makeshift defense, penalty takers, take a brief look ahead to Schalke 04, and more! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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