MUNICH, GERMANY (AFP) - Robert Lewandowski scored twice for the second straight Champions League game this season as Bayern Munich cruised to a 5-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday (Sept 29). Lewandowski claimed the 76th and 77th Champions League goals of his career as Bayern cantered into a two-goal lead at the break before Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting netted in the second half. Lewandowski also hit a brace in the 3-0 drubbing of Barcelona a fortnight ago and, in total, he has scored 24 goals in his last 18 Champions League appearances to bolster his credentials for the Ballon d'Or award at the end of November. The result means Bayern top Group E, two points clear of their next opponents Benfica, who beat Barcelona 3-0 in Lisbon on Wednesday. "We did pretty well," said man-of-the-match Sane. "We kept things calm at the back, showed our dominance and we were strong in our finishing." The 25-year-old appeared to have scored the goal of the night when he sent the ball flying into the net from the left wing, but he admitted it was a fluke. "No, it wasn't intentional, I just wanted to put a good cross in. My technique isn't that good," he said with a smile. Dynamo Kiev coach Mircea Lucescu picked a defensive line-up designed to contain the Bundesliga champions, but the hosts took the lead with less than 12 minutes gone. Kiev captain Serhiy Sydorchuk handled in the area from a Joshua Kimmich corner and Lewandowski converted the resulting spot-kick in front of 25,000 fans, a third of the Allianz Arena's capacity due to Bavaria's Covid-19 regulations. The Poland striker scored his second when Bayern's relentless pressing led to Thomas Mueller threading a pass between two defenders for Lewandowski to fire home on 27 minutes. This was the 19th Champions League game in which Lewandowski has scored two or more goals. It threatened to turn into a first-half rout as Sane's shot smacked against the post 10 minutes before half-time. More on this topic Related Story Football: Ronaldo late show gives Man United Champions League win over Villarreal On one of the rare occasions when Dynamo got out of their own half, Uruguayan winger Carlos de Pena forced Manuel Neuer to tip the ball over the bar. Poland international Tomasz Kedziora and Volodymyr Shepelev came off the bench to help the visitors repeatedly thwart Bayern after half-time until Gnabry hit the net on 68 minutes. Sane went close on two occasions, before Gnabry finished off a counter-attack that started in Bayern's box. With Sane, Mueller and Lewandowski sprinting up in support, Gnabry went it alone and fired in a superb shot which crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. Sane's attempted cross then caught Dynamo goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan off guard as he was beaten at his near post. Lewandowski trudged off to a standing ovation with 11 minutes left and his replacement Choupo-Moting headed in Bayern's fifth in the dying stages. More on this topic Related Story Football: Beleaguered Barcelona thumped by Benfica in Champions League Related Story Football: Chiesa strikes to give Juve huge Champions League win over holders Chelsea
BERLIN (AFP) - Robert Lewandowski netted twice as Bayern Munich retained the German Super Cup with a 3-1 win at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (Aug 17) in a high-tempo encounter. Lewandowski put Bayern ahead with a bullet header at Signal Iduna Park before Thomas Mueller doubled the visitors' lead to make it 2-0 just after the break. Dortmund captain Marco Reus pulled a goal back when he curled a superb shot inside the post before Lewandowski settled the match. The 32-year-old has now scored 24 goals in as many games against Dortmund, where he spent four years from 2010-2014. "This means a lot to me. We've won our next title and for the spectators it must have been a really cool game to watch," Lewandowski told Sky. "It's something really great for the team which we can enjoy." Bayern have now won all of their last six matches against Dortmund. It was a welcome victory for Bayern, who were winless in four pre-season friendlies before drawing last Friday's opening game of the new Bundesliga season 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach. New coach Julian Nagelsmann has earned a trophy, which Bayern also won last year against Dortmund in Munich, with his first win in charge. "We were better than in Gladbach and this is an important win for the lads," said Nagelsmann, who hailed Lewandowski's "exceptional" performance. It was a frustrating game for Erling Braut Haaland and 16-year-old Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko, who each had goals ruled offside. Both teams wore black armbands out of respect for legendary Bayern striker Gerd Mueller, who died Sunday aged 75. During the warm-up, the Bayern squad wore shirts with Mueller's name and number 9 on the back. Steady rain did little to dampen the electric atmosphere as tempers quickly became frayed, with three yellow cards dished out in the first half. Dortmund had the best early chance when England midfielder Jude Bellingham threaded a pass through the defence to Reus on 20 minutes, but Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer blocked the shot with his foot. Moukoko then had the ball in the net on 36 minutes from a Haaland pass, only to be denied by an offside flag. Lewandowski put Bayern ahead four minutes before the break, perfectly timing his run into the box to head home a pin-point Serge Gnabry cross. Bayern extended their advantage four minutes into the second half when Lewandowski failed to connect with an Alphonso Davies cross and Mueller swept in the loose ball. Haaland beat Neuer three minutes later, but his effort was also chalked off. However, Dortmund pulled a goal back when Bellingham spotted Reus in space and he unleashed an excellent strike into the corner with 26 minutes to go. However, Lewandowski ended the tie as a contest, after Bayern capitalised on a rare mistake in the Dortmund defence. Centre-back Manuel Akanji played a lazy pass which was snapped up and worked to Lewandowski, who slotted home, taking the wind out of Dortmund in the 74th minute.
ST PETERSBURG (AFP) - Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar fired Slovakia to a 2-1 victory over neighbours Poland on Monday (June 14) in their opening game at Euro 2020 in Saint Petersburg. An own goal from Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny handed Slovakia the lead on 18 minutes, but Karol Linetty equalised for Poland right at the start of the second half. Poland were reduced to 10 men on the hour when midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak picked up a second yellow card, and Slovakia made their advantage count as Skriniar drove in a well-taken winner at a corner. "We're delighted to start the competition with a win. It was a difficult game, Poland are a quality team," said Skriniar. Poland striker Robert Lewandowski found his opportunities limited by Slovakia after a prolific season with Bayern Munich that saw him set a Bundesliga record with 41 goals. "Skriniar put in a great performance. I think the whole team played very well," said Slovakia coach Stefan Tarkovic. "I'm really happy we managed to neutralise a great player such as Lewandowski." Slovakia, who reached the last 16 on their European Championship debut five years ago, play Sweden next in Group E on Friday while Poland go to Seville to face Spain the following day. Poland coach Paulo Sousa opted to start Lewandowski as the lone striker, with his attacking options limited by injuries that ruled both Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piatek out of the tournament. Marek Hamsik, who led Slovakia at the 2010 World Cup as well as Euro 2016, earned his record-extending 127th cap for his country after shaking off a niggling calf injury. Slovakia started well as Ondrej Duda's shot squirmed just wide, and it wasn't long before they went in front. Robert Mak danced past two defenders as he drifted in from the left wing, his low strike taking a slight deflection and smacking the post before bouncing off the grounded Szczesny and tricking over the line. Szczesny, who was sent off in the opening game of Euro 2012 when Poland were co-hosts, became the first goalkeeper in the competition's history to be credited with an own goal. Slovakia midfielder Juraj Kucka's dipping effort from distance dropped narrowly over, and Poland levelled 32 seconds after half-time as Linetty finished off a sharp team move with a scruffy shot that rolled into the corner. Linetty then stabbed a cross straight at Martin Dubravka, but the dismissal of Krychowiak proved costly as Skriniar controlled a corner and drilled home his third goal in his past four internationals to put Slovakia back on top. Jan Bednarek prodded wide in stoppage time as Poland pressed for an equaliser, but they have now failed to score more than once in 12 European Championship games, with Lewandowski stuck on just two goals in 12 matches at major finals. More on this topic Related Story Football: Spain draw blank with Sweden in Euro 2020 opener Related Story Football: Schick stunner for Czechs leaves Scotland reeling
ZURICH • Nicknamed "The Body" and dubbed a "machine" by his wife, Robert Lewandowski has done what many thought impossible - relegating superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to supporting roles at a football awards show. On Thursday, the Bayern Munich striker was named The Best Fifa Men's Player 2020, after a treble-winning season capped by the club's sixth European Cup. Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who won in 2018, is the only other player to have broken Ronaldo and Messi's domination - the pair have won five and six times respectively - since 2008. "He deserved it more than anyone else. He played the season of his life," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge of Lewandowski, who fired in 55 goals in all competitions last term. The Poland forward has already scored 18 goals in 17 games this term, hitting the net twice against Wolfsburg on Wednesday to pass the milestone of 250 Bundesliga goals. The fact he has taken this long to win at Fifa's The Best awards is down to the way he proved himself in the knockout stage of the Champions League last season. Despite having been the Bundesliga's top scorer for five of the last seven terms, he was getting a reputation for choking in key games in Europe. Up until February, the 32-year-old had failed to score in his previous seven matches in the knockout phase. All that changed in Bayern's last-16, first-leg win over Chelsea, with Lewandowski netting at Stamford Bridge and setting up Serge Gnabry's two goals in the 3-0 win. When the return leg was played six months later, Lewandowski had a hand in all four goals - scoring twice and creating two more - in the 4-1 win at the Allianz Arena. He followed that up by scoring in the historic 8-2 quarter-final rout of Barcelona - their worst defeat in Europe - and netted again in the 3-0 semi-final win over Lyon. Lewandowski finished as the competition's top scorer with 15 goals, two short of Ronaldo's record for a single season and was dubbed "Lewangoalski" by teammate Thomas Muller. Robert Lewandowski admiring the Best Fifa Men's Player trophy. In October, he was Uefa's Player of the Year after Bayern Munich swept the Super Cup, Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles. PHOTO: TWITTER/FOXSOCCER He also finished top scorer in the Bundesliga and the German Cup. In October, he was named Uefa's Player of the Year after Bayern added the Uefa Super Cup to their Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles and he could complete the set in February if the Bavarian giants win the Club World Cup in Qatar. On the biggest individual award he has received, Lewandowski, who also led his country to Euro 2020 qualification, said: "To win such an award and share this title with Messi and Ronaldo, is unbelievable and means so much to me. THE BEST FIFA AWARDS MEN'S PLAYER Robert Lewandowski WOMEN'S PLAYER Lucy Bronze MEN'S GOALKEEPER Manuel Neuer WOMEN'S GOALKEEPER Sarah Bouhaddi MEN'S COACH Jurgen Klopp WOMEN'S COACH Sarina Wiegman PUSKAS (GOAL) AWARD Son Heung-min "I am very proud and happy. This is a great day for me, and also for my club and colleagues. "This award also belongs to my colleagues, the coach and Bayern in general. It is an incredible feeling, a lot of emotions." WHAT A FEELING To win such an award and share this title with Messi and Ronaldo, is unbelievable and means so much to me... It is an incredible feeling, a lot of emotions. ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, Bayern Munich forward, on receiving The Best Fifa Men's Player 2020 award. Manchester City full-back Lucy Bronze won the Best Women's Player award, becoming the first female English player to take the prize, while Jurgen Klopp was named the Best Men's Coach for the second successive year after guiding Liverpool to a first Premier League title in 30 years. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS