Bayern Munich strolled to the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Friday evening, hammering Carl-Zeiss Jena in a 5-0 rout.
The match was always going to be a struggle for the fourth-tier hosts, who haven't been in the professional (1. and 2.Bundesliga) German leagues since 2007-08 and were relegated to theRegionalliga Nordost in 2012.
And sure enough, Bayern found it to be a cakewalk. They went ahead inside three minutes and were 3-0 up at half-time, at which time they were stroking the ball about as though the game were a training exercise: Casual flicks and clever flair moves came at the expense of efficiency, which by that point was of little necessity. The game was over.
Bayern's win may have been as comfortable as it was expected, but the noteworthy story from the action was Robert Lewandowski's performance. The Poland international scored all three first-half goals, then assisted Arturo Vidal for Bayern's fourth after the break. Mats Hummels added a fifth in the 77th minute.
Lewandowski indeed is Bayern's main striker. In fact, he's the only true striker in Carlo Ancelotti's squad. He was the focal point of the attack. But he also entered the match with a point to prove.
The Poland international had had a woeful Euro 2016. True, he scored a key goal against Portugal in the quarterfinals, but it wasn't enough to put his side through and was the only goal he scored at the tournament.
Lewandowski, who had scored 13 times in qualifying, was held scoreless against Northern Ireland, Germany, Ukraine and Switzerland. So much more was expected of Poland, especially their captain.
Prior to the Euros, there were some questions about Lewandowski's form and fitness. He seemed to get his groove back in May, but in the weeks prior, he was at least a touch below the elite standard he'd set in the fall. Perhaps he was tired, having hardly had a break due toBayern's dearth of depth in the striker position—he certainly looked so at the Euros.
It hasn't been long since Lewandowski and Poland exited the summer tournament in France; the player's time off was abbreviated. But after failing to get on the scoresheet in the DFL-Superpokal against his former club, Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski put his best foot forward against Jena.
Sure, it was "only" a fourth-tier club that Lewandowski scored his goals against, but as the player himself noted after the game, that fact isn't of particular relevance.
"It's not so important whether it's the Bundesliga or the DFB Cup," he said, according to the official Bayern website. "People always expect goals from me."
Netting a hat-trick against Jena was particularly important forLewandowski on a psychological level, as it saw him overcome what could have been a mental block.
Strikers thrive on the confidence that comes with scoring: It's a cliche that a struggling striker can suddenly spring back into form after converting even a penalty, but it's a valid one. And so a Lewandowskihat-trick, even against Jena, could make all the difference. It could be the start of him roaring out of the gates to lead Bayern to success rather than struggling for form and the Bavarians being without a reliable striker for an indefinite period of time.
Bayern scored 123 goals in total across all competitions last season, of which Lewandowski accounted for just over one third (42). Thus, it's safe to say the Polish striker is indispensable to Bayern and needed in good form if the German giants are to contend for glory in three competitions.
Bayern's win over Jena on Friday may have been more or less a given, but the manner in which they won definitely was not.
It was, however, an encouraging result with positive implications for the state of their attack as the Bundesliga restart approaches, forLewandowski in particular. He was crowned the German top flight's top scorer last season, and despite his poor run during the summer, he looks back on track for success.
