“We have to focus on ourselves and not much on Lewandowski,” says Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller ahead of the Barcelona clash

 
Bayern Munich will be hosting FC Barcelona for their Champions clash and it will also be a homecoming for former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski who joined the Spanish outfit in the summer transfer window. It will surely be the biggest fixture in the Champions League especially with the rivalry involved in their previous encounters.

However, a lot has changed since their last meeting as Barcelona have signed several top players to their roster and will be eager to take a step forward against the German Champions. On the other hand, Bayern have also signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool and there have been some other additions in terms of Ryan Gravenberch, Mathijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Mathys Tel will also be very important in this fixture.

Bayern have started their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win against Inter Milan whereas Barcelona won their first game against Viktoria Plzen 5-1. So both the teams will be looking to consolidate on their first win. While Bayern are going through a rough patch in the Bundesliga, Barcelona have enjoyed great success in La Liga with Lewandowski combining with Ousmane Dembele in attack.

Ahead of the big clash , Sadio Mane has jokingly warned Thomas Muller to not pass the ball to long term teammate Robert Lewandowski. Muller and the Polish forward enjoyed great camaraderie during Lewandowski’s stay at the Allianz Arena. So before the game, Muller revealed a joke that was shared by Mane. “Sadio has been joking, telling me not to make a mistake and pass the ball to Lewandowski during the game. We have to play our game tomorrow and not focus too much on Lewy,” Muller told Spanish outlet, SPORT.

Lewandowski and Muller had a splendid relationship on the pitch for Bayern as they combined for many goals and assists and were a primary part of Bayern’s success in the last few years. Sharing his relationship with Lewandowski, Muller shared, “Our connection on the pitch grew over time. But now we have a lot of versatile players up front and we don’t have a single reference. Opponents don’t know who the regular striker is and we have to make it work.”

The Polish international has already scored nine goals in six games for the Blaugrana which also includes a hattrick in the Champions League.