Leroy Sané silenced his critics by netting two goals in Bayern Munich’s dominant 5-0 victory over Hoffenheim, helping the team reclaim a four-point lead in the Bundesliga standings on Wednesday.
Sané’s performance comes amid scrutiny surrounding his future, as his contract is set to expire at the end of the season. Commentators such as former Bayern legend Lothar Matthaeus have suggested that the winger has not met expectations after his move from Manchester City in 2020, casting doubt on a possible contract renewal. Matthaeus shared these thoughts with Sky before the match began.
The Bayern star quickly made an impact, scoring the first goal only seven minutes into the match, firing a powerful shot past the goalkeeper post after receiving a setup from Thomas Müller. His celebration indicated that the ongoing criticism might have affected him personally.
“You always hope he can just react instinctively and not overthink things. Today, he did just that and it showed in his performance,” Müller commented.
Just five minutes after Sané’s opener, Raphaël Guerreiro joined the celebration, scoring following a quick one-two with Harry Kane, marking his first Bundesliga goal this season.
Kane then converted a penalty in the 26th minute, making it 3-0 and marking his 16th goal of the current campaign. After the halftime break, Sané added another goal, assisted by Mathys Tel, and substitute Serge Gnabry found the net shortly after coming on for Kane.
Sané was substituted to applause from the home crowd following Gnabry’s goal. “In the end, you receive praise for good performances and criticism when things don’t go right,” Sané stated. “I always strive to support the team and deliver strong performances, and I am often the hardest on myself whenever I fall short.”
Meanwhile, Stuttgart is pushing for a Champions League spot as they defeated Leipzig 2-1, with the visiting side ending the match with nine players. Leipzig initially led due to a goal from Benjamin Šeško but faced frustration from Stuttgart fans over an apparent foul in the buildup to the goal, leading to a booking for Stuttgart’s assistant coach, David Krecidlo, for his protests.
Stuttgart’s Jacob Bruun Larsen leveled the game in the 50th minute, assisted by Deniz Undav, who later contributed to Nick Woltemade’s goal to secure the comeback in the 60th minute. As Leipzig faced its fifth defeat this season, both Šeško and Loïs Openda were shown red cards late in the match, sidelining them for the upcoming game against Bochum on Saturday.
In a relegation battle, Bochum earned a 1-0 win against St. Pauli, courtesy of a stunning second-half goal from Philipp Hofmann. Despite the victory, Bochum remains at the bottom of the table.
Bochum is also waiting for the outcome of Union Berlin’s appeal regarding a match decision after their goalkeeper was hit by a lighter during play. In another match, Union suffered their second consecutive loss under new coach Steffen Baumgart, falling 2-0 to Augsburg due to poor defensive efforts. In a thrilling encounter, Heidenheim’s Leonardo Scienza scored a late equalizer in a 3-3 draw against Werder Bremen, netting in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
