Augsburg to man-mark Lewandowski to protect Mueller record

Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl says they will man-mark Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski on Saturday to prevent him from gaining sole position of the Bundesliga scoring record.

Lewandowski drew level with former Bayern Munich ace Gerd Mueller on 40 season goals last weekend, and can better the mark in Saturday’s finale.

But Weinzierl does not want this to happen, out of respect for Mueller whose record dates back to 1971-72, and has said “we are considering to have one player follow Lewandowski over the whole pitch.

“Lewandowski will certainly want to extend his record. It is our duty to take him out of the game as good as possible in order to protect Gerd Mueller’s goal record,” Weinzierl said.

“Gerd Mueller was an idol in my youth and he was my assistant coach at Bayern Munich’s reserves. I know him well and appreciate him a lot. That’s why I will wish for the record to remain a shared one.”

The game is for pride only as Bayern Munich have clinched a ninth straight league title and Augsburg last weekend assured themselves of staying in the top-flight.

“It is important for us to present ourselves well as underdogs with a positive ending. But of course we know about the quality of the opponent,” Weinzierl said.

“Bayern Munich will want to have a good game before the trophy presentation and also want to give (outgoing coach) Hansi Flick an appropriate sending-off.

“It will be a huge challenge for us and we have to give our all.”