Alphonso Davies' early red card "woke up" Bayern Munich and set them on their way to claiming a 4-0 victory over Stuttgart despite their numerical disadvantage, Robert Lewandowski has declared.
The Bundesliga champions had been on the back foot even prior to losing their left-back in the 12th minute for a poor challenge on Wataru Endo.
But they responded brilliantly, taking the lead through hat-trick hero Lewandowski before Serge Gnabry also scored as they built a four-goal lead by half-time.
Speaking after the game, the Poland star shared his belief that, rather than hurt Bayern, the dismissal actually served to bring them to life.
He said: "We played really well after the red card. That woke us up. Before that, we didn't play so perfectly.
"After that, it was a challenge for us to create chances and score goals. We wanted to keep playing forward after the first goal and try to add another one."
Bayern coach Hansi Flick was understandably full of praise for the manner in which his players responded to that setback.
The German also had no complaints about the decision to dismiss his player.
"I have to give my team a huge compliment," he enthused.
"After the dismissal, which was justified, they worked well on the defensive, made the spaces very, very tight as a team and did very well in possession of the ball, especially in the first half.
"The way we created the chances was simply outstanding. We had to change the defence today and were very compact.
"We kept the clean sheet and got the three points – that was our goal and thus a successful game day for us."
As for Stuttgart boss Pellegrino Matarazzo, he felt the sending-off only ended up taking away the visitors' positive early momentum.
He said: "We got into the game well, you can even say that we were dominant.
"We played well and should have taken the lead shortly after the red card. Then something happened mentally: either that we had pressure to win or we thought we had less pressure now.
"We paid in the first half and I hope we can do better next time."
Thomas Tuchel warns Bayern Munich about threat posed by ‘intense’ Bochum
Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has warned his players they will need to take a physical approach to match the “intense” style of Bundesliga opponents Bochum.
Bayern return to domestic action on Saturday after opening their Champions League campaign with a 4-3 win over Manchester United in midweek.
The defending champions are unbeaten in the league so far after following three straight wins with a 2-2 at home to Bayer Leverkusen, a result which left the sides separated only by goal difference at the top of the table.
Bochum were thrashed 5-0 at Stuttgart on the opening day of the season but have drawn each of their last three games and Tuchel is taking nothing for granted ahead of the game at the Allianz Arena.
“We need respect for the opponent,” Tuchel said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Bochum are on a good run, three games without defeat, and deservedly so.
“They have a very intense style of play. We need our best line-up for this game. Bochum isn’t a game where we can just do our thing. We have to be ready and be physically involved. There will be a huge amount of sprints and challenges.
“Everyone’s come out of the (Man United) match well. I think we have everyone available. We won’t rotate for rotation’s sake.”
Bayern scored four times against United and could easily have had several more, but Tuchel was unhappy with the manner of the goals his side conceded against their Premier League opponents.
“We have to do everything together,” Tuchel said. “To concede fewer goals, that’s always the goal. The goals we conceded against Man United were a bit strange.”
Teenage striker Mathys Tel scored Bayern’s fourth against United and has now found the back of the net three times already this season, all three goals arriving within minutes of coming off the bench.
“It’s an ideal situation,” Tuchel added. “Mathys is 18 years old and has an important role. The way he accepts the role is fantastic. He has the chance to influence games.
“The important thing is that his mindset is clear. The fact he wants more (minutes) is natural. He has to be ready but also patient. It could be that he starts tomorrow.
“We have a lot of competition. Having someone who accepts the role like him is fantastic.”
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer remains sidelined with a calf problem but Tuchel will not take any risks with his return and is happy with the performances of replacement Sven Ulreich.
“Sven Ulreich is doing a good job, making good saves and trying to implement things in build-up play,” Tuchel said. “He’s made several important saves for us. We have a good goalkeeping team and are very happy.
“Manuel Neuer is very positive. He’s continuing to do his goalkeeper training, not with the team but individually. It’s not an injury but more issues with his calf. We don’t want to take any risk that an injury can come from it.”
Football rumours: Jadon Sancho set for cut-price January sale
What the papers say
The clock appears to be ticking on Jadon Sancho’s time at Manchester United. The Daily Star reports United are willing to sell the England winger, 23, in January for less than the £73million they paid Borussia Dortmund.
Another winger is being linked to a move to Old Trafford, with Manchester United among several clubs keen on Club Brugge youngster Antonio Nusa. The Daily Express reports Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in the 18-year-old Norwegian, who is valued around £30million.
One forward not going anywhere is Son Heung-min. According to the Daily Telegraph, Tottenham are ready to trigger an option in the South Korean’s contract which will keep the 31-year-old at the club for a further year until 2026.
There are comings and goings off the pitch at Tottenham. The Guardian reports chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini has left the club ahead of the appointment of a new sporting director.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Michail Antonio: Wolves, Everton and Nottingham Forest could step in if the 33-year-old striker fails to agree a new deal at West Ham.
Khephren Thuram: Liverpool and Tottenham are among several top European clubs on the trail of Nice’s 22-year-old France midfielder.
60 to 1: Reggae Girlz faces daunting Canada task with Olympic hopes on the line
In their past nine meetings with Canada, Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz have lost every match by a combined score of 60-1.
But Head coach Lorne Donaldson doesn’t need a statistics lesson to know that his ever-improving Reggae Girlz team faces a stern examination of their history-making credentials, as they seek to end a winless run against the formidable reigning Olympic champions in an important assignment.
Donaldson’s side ranked at 37th and the number 10-ranked Canadians lock horns in the first of their two-leg Olympic qualifying playoff at the National Stadium on Friday at 7:00pm Jamaica time, with both aiming to draw first blood and, by extension, put themselves in pole position to secure a berth to next year's Olympic Games in France.
The second leg is scheduled for September 26 at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto.
While acknowledging the daunting nature of their task against the three-time Olympic medallists, Donaldson is hoping the Reggae Girlz can turn in an efficient performance in their bid to defy the odds and their doubters on local soil.
“Canada is the Olympic champion, they have won a lot of stuff, we haven’t proven anything yet so they have a right to be favourite. So we have to be good, we have to play really well to beat the Olympic champions,” Donaldson told Sportsmax.tv.
“We’re ready for a tough battle and it will take its own course, I’m sure. it’s a pretty important game to both teams so we just want to come out and play hard…as hard as we can and see what we can get out of it. That’s our aim, to come out and play as hard and be very effective in what we are trying to do,” he added.
The Reggae Girlz, who are coming off a confident run at the Fifa Women’s World Cup, where they finished second in Group F, holding top 10-ranked teams France and Brazil to goalless stalemates, complemented by a 1-0 victory over Panama, before losing 0-1 to Colombia in the Round of 16.
It was the first time since 1938 that a Caribbean team –male or female –contested the knockout stages at the global showpiece and the Girlz have a chance to not only build on that momentum, but also become the first Caribbean team to qualify for women’s football at the Olympics.
This, as Canada in seven matches so far this year, have registered two wins, one draw and four losses, scoring just five goals, while conceding a whopping 12.
But, even with that in mind, Donaldson maintains that his team will have to be at their best to achieve the intended results.
“We had a journey of all sorts, including the World Cup and those highs and lows prepares us for games like this. So it’s a challenge that we’re looking forward to and we have to try and score goals, it is as simple as that.
“We have to minimize what we give up because it’s a two-leg fixture, so we have to get a result from this leg and then go from there. So yeah, we’re going to have to be in top form to get a result,” Donaldson reasoned.
Though he has 20 players from his World Cup squad, led by 2022 Concacaf Women's Player of the Year and a finalist for this year's Ballon d'Or, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw in camp, Donaldson pointed out the decision on a starting team remains up in the air, as a few players are nursing niggles.
However, he expressed pleasure with what was displayed during three full sessions, all focused on their tactical approach.
“The first session was lively; the second one was a bit sub-par, but the players regained some tempo for the last session because they know the objective and I am sure they are shooting for it.
“Everything has been focused on tactics and what we want to do, which is to go in and get a result. So, we are just taking it in stride honour anything we need to honour, and try to finish up on a good note,” the tactician said.
Meanwhile, Canada’s head coach Bev Priestman will have 19 of the 23 players, who were part of her World Cup roster, including captain Christine Sinclair and a trio of Chelsea players — workhorse midfielder Jessie Fleming and defenders Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence.
Notable absences from that group are now-retired veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt, as well as fullback Allysha Chapman, who is out for personal reasons. Fullback Jayde Riviere and forward Deanne Rose were originally named to the roster but will miss the qualifiers due to injuries.
Still, Priestman said her team is ready and raring to go.
“We all are itching to get back on the pitch and we want nothing more than to start our journey to the Olympic Games through these playoffs,” Priestman noted.
“We know it will be a tough challenge in front of us and it won’t be easy, but we are ready to rise to that challenge, the group feels fresh and excited, and we’re ready to go,” she added.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
