Robert Lewandowski has revealed how crunch talks in January helped Bayern Munich overhaul a nine-point deficit on Borussia Dortmund to stand on the cusp of a seventh-straight Bundesliga title.
Poland forward Lewandowski can seal a fourth German golden boot with Bayern hunting their 29th Bundesliga crown in Saturday’s season-closing home clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 22-goal striker believes Bayern can secure their toughest title in recent memory this weekend, admitting some candid chats during the winter break helped kick-start the latest title drive.
“We said during the winter training camp in Qatar we could set off on a winning run any time, and that Dortmund might squander points,” said Lewandowski.
“We said to ourselves, ‘if we close up soon we’ll still have a chance’.
“We’ve achieved it, and fortunately it’s all up to us before the last match day.
“We’ve always sealed it early over the last few years, and now we have to play through to the end.
“We’ve had a duel with Dortmund over the entire season, we also had phases when we didn’t play so well.
“If we win the title it’ll definitely have been the hardest one of the last few years.”
A fourth German golden boot would put Lewandowski behind only Gerd Muller, who bagged seven top-scorer titles.
“It’s a great honour for me to be second to this great legend,” said Lewandowski.
“He’s won it seven times, I’m a bit behind. But it would still be special and mean a lot to me if I could win it on Saturday.
“I have a cushion but I must probably score another goal, just to be sure, but also for the championship title.”
Captain Manuel Neuer is expected to miss out due to his torn calf muscle, and striker James Rodriguez continues to struggle with a muscle injury.
Franck Ribery, Rafinha and Arjen Robben will all leave Bayern this summer, with Lewandowski saluting the trio’s impending departure.
“An extraordinary era is coming to an end,” he told Bayern’s official club website.
“All three are great guys, they’ve achieved a lot, we’ll miss them.”
Eintracht could finish as low as eighth – or secure Champions League qualification.
Serbia hitman Luka Jovic is set for his last Frankfurt turn before completing his expected summer move to Real Madrid.
His strike partner Sebastien Haller believes Eintracht must ignore the table and throw everything at trying to topple Bayern on their home turf.
“You could say it’s like a final, because everyone knows we can make this a season that goes down in the history books,” Haller told Eintracht’s official club website.
“It could not be any more difficult but we’ll be ready for them.
“There’s no point working out calculations before the match, once we’re out on the pitch we’ll just try to enjoy it.”
