Lewandowski seeks to better own mark
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski aims to better his record of 30 league goals in a season and beat Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Bundesliga’s top-scorer title on Saturday.
His two-goal haul in Bayern’s thrilling 5-4 win over RB Leipzig last Saturday left Lewandowski one ahead of Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund with one game left.
This season’s haul matches his personal best, set last term when he won the ‘Golden Cannon’ trophy — awarded to the Bundesliga’s top-scorer.
Lewandowski wants at least one more goal in Saturday’s final home game against Freiburg, while hoping Aubameyang fails to score for Dortmund at home to Bremen.
“I’m not thinking about ‘the Cannon’, my goal is to get 30 goals plus ‘x’ — when I score one more, then I have beaten my personal record, which is what I want to do,” Lewandowski told FCBayern.de.
BENZEMA HASN’T GIVEN UP ON FRANCE RETURN
PARIS:Real
Madrid striker Karim Benzema has not given up hope of a return to the French national team despite being frozen out by coach Didier Deschamps in the wake of a sex-tape scandal 18 months ago.
Benzema was suspended indefinitely in December 2015 after being charged with conspiracy to blackmail team mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sextape, but French federation president Noel Le Graet said last October Deschamps was free to call him up again.
“Others say I can be called up, not him. If the coach tells me to my face that it is only because of football, fine, I’ll continue to work,” Benzema told French sports daily L’Equipe on Wednesday. “If there is another reason, he just had to tell it to my face and I’m done with him.
“I asked the coach for an explanation. An explanation can be just two minutes long. It’s not complicated ... But I am still at the coach’s disposal. The coach knows this.”
NETHERLANDS’ KUYT QUITS FOOTBALL
AMSTERDAM:
Dirk Kuyt announced his retirement from football on Wednesday, bowing out in the best way possible after his hat trick on Sunday won a first Dutch championship in 18 years for Feyenoord.
The much anticipated announcement came after Kuyt captained his club to an emotional title victory with a 3-1 win over Heracles Almelo.
“All my dreams have come true. I made decisions throughout my whole career based on gut feeling, and for me this is the right time to stop,” he said.