Robert Lewandowski saved the day for Bayern Munich with his individual class, providing a sensational injury-time winner at SC Freiburg to assure the reigning champions of first place in the league at the halfway mark of the season. Lewandowski scored both goals as Bayern overcame an early deficit from Janik Haberer for a 2-1 victory in the league restart from a month-long winter break on a freezing Friday. The brace made the Polish marksman the second best foreign scorer in the Bundesliga with 135 goals, two ahead of former Bayern and Stuttgart player Giovane Elber, but still 55 shy of the leading 190 Claudio Pizarro has netted, another former Bayern player who is now back at Bayern's next opponents Werder Bremen. Lewandowski has scored 60 of them in 80 games for Munich after a 2014 move from Borussia Dortmund, and according to statisticians Opta no other player has ever reached this tally in such a short time. On Friday, Lewandowski's first was a difficult volley off a corner kick but it was the second that had everyone raving, not just because it was the winner. Leaning heavily backwards in the air, Lewandowski chested a cross from Franck Ribery, kept his balance and the ball up with his right foot and then shot into the bottom left corner with his left foot. "Bayern have the quality and Lewandowski, what can I say?" Freiburg coach Christian Streich said after his team put up a good fight and would have deserved a draw. Lewandowski said: "My first thought was to pass the ball directly to a team-mate, but it wasn't so easy because no one was there. So I just tried to control the ball and take a shot. "It was the last attack of the match, you have to demonstrate your quality and try everything. Fortunately I succeeded. I didn't hit the ball perfectly, but a goal is a goal, and three points are three points." The game will be remembered for the goal rather than Munich's class as they struggled for most of the match and were far from making a big statement of intent - as they had done in the last game before the hibernation period with a classy 3-0 over second-placed RB Leipzig. "We can't be satisfied with the way we won, only with the result," coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted. "We didn't play well, especially in the first half. I liked the willpower and the character the players have shown. We ultimately won the match thanks to it." Winger Arjen Robben said that "the first match after the winter break is never easy" and urged better showings in the next games. "We now need matches to find our rhythm. It continues next week," he said. For now however Bayern are now six clear of Leipzig who were to host fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday night. Big rivals Borussia Dortmund are even 15 points behind in sixth, ahead of their Saturday date in Bremen. Bayern top the table at the halfway point for the 22nd time, and have lifted the trophy on 18 of the past occasions. A fifth straight title in May is the clear aim and by then people will only remember Lewandowski's brilliant goal from the frosty night in Freiburg.
