For all of the overpowering brilliance of Bayern Munich this season, there has been one unstated fear that has left the club’s executives awake at night.
That fear was realised over the weekend when Robert Lewandowski limped off the pitch for Poland during a World Cup qualifier versus Andorra. Lewandowski will miss the next four weeks of games for Bayern Munich.
That includes the club’s massive six-point top of the table clash versus RB Leipzig on Saturday. A win would pull RB Leipzig within one point of Bayern Munich with seven games left to play.
The injury was downplayed by Poland manager Paulo Sousa following the team’s win over Andorra. Lewandowski’s four-week layoff is worse than expected, but not the worst-case scenario by any means.
The striker has 35 Bundesliga goals accounting for a remarkable 45% of Bayern Munich’s league scoring. While Die Roten are not a one-man show, they have leaned heavily on Lewandowski to score goals.
Thomas Muller is the team’s next highest goalscorer with 10 strikes. After Serge Gnabry’s nine, things drop off quite a lot.
Hansi Flick will likely use the combination of Muller, Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and Kingsley Coman in attack to make up for Lewandowski. Despite the players Flick can call on, it feels like RB Leipzig have been handed an advantage in the title race.
If Lewandowski doesn’t return earlier than planned and misses the entire month of April as expected with a right knee ligament injury, Bayern Munich could lose their grasps on both the Bundesliga title and Champions League.
In the Bundesliga, Lewandowski is likely to miss matches versus RB Leipzig, Union Berlin, Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, and possibly Mainz. He will also miss both legs of Die Roten’s Champions League quarterfinal tie versus Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern Munich’s defence has shown plenty of vulnerabilities this season conceding 35 times. While it is still the fifth-lowest tally, Lewandowski’s goals and threat in the final third have ensured Bayern Munich outscore their opponents.
The reigning treble winners are in a tricky predicament going into the weekend. A loss to their newest title rivals could usher in further losing at a time in the campaign that is congested with big games.
It is too early to call for doom and gloom for Bayern Munich, but they are already out of the DFB Pokal. Lewandowski’s injury could see them lose out on both the Bundesliga title and Champions League as well. What has been a brilliant campaign could end up being one without silverware in May.