“Sadio has been joking telling me not to make a mistake and pass the ball to Lewandowski” – Thomas Muller opens up on Mane teasing him ahead of Bayern Munich vs Barcelona
Thomas Muller recently revealed that Sadio Mane has jokingly asked him not to pass the ball to Robert Lewandowski when Barcelona and Bayern Munich face off in the UEFA Champions League on September 14.
Muller and Lewandowski were teammates at Bayern Munich for nine years and formed a formidable partnership. They won eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League together.
However, Lewandowski left the Bavarians to join the Catalan club at the start of the summer transfer window. The Polish striker will make a return to the Allianz arena as Bayern Munich host Barcelona.
Speaking ahead of the game, Muller revealed how Bayern's new signing Mane had joked with him as he told SPORT:
"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."
The German forward further went on to explain how his understanding with Lewandowski grew over time during the Polish superstar's stint at the club.
Bayern's former No. 9 scored 344 goals provided 72 assists in 375 games for the club. He is their second highest goalscorer of all time behind Gerd Muller.
Muller said:
"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."
Lewandowski has started his career in Spain in style. He has scored nine goals in six games for the Blaugaranas, including a hat-trick in the Champions League. Barcelona currently sit in second spot in the La Liga table.
Bayern, however, have struggled a bit without Lewandowski. They have drawn their last three games in the Bundesliga and are currently third in the table.
Thomas Muller predicts an exciting game between Barcelona and Bayern Munich
Both Barcelona and Bayern Munich have started their Champions League campaigns with a win.
The Catalan club picked up a 5-1 win against Viktoria Plzen in their opening fixture. Bayern, meanwhile, defeated Inter Milan 2-0 at the San Siro.
Muller predicts the highly anticipated clash between the European heavyweights will be an interesting one, one which even the neutral fans will like. He said:
"We want to impose ourselves in duels and we want to be scathing after losing the ball. The game will be open. I think tomorrow will be a game that the neutral spectator will like."