Gomez and Olic on the same wavelength

There has been an eerie consistency to Louis van Gaal’s post-match comments in recent weeks. “We had chances but we’ve failed to score,” or “it's a shame we didn’t manage a goal,” or “I’m frustrated because we didn’t score,” and even “we should have scored more.” After Sunday’s Hannover clash, Van Gaal was finally able to switch to a more positive tone: “Our strikers have started scoring again.”

Bayern won 3-0, their biggest league victory since mid-September, and a welcome return to form for the forward line. “I’m delighted we had two strikers, Gomez and Olic, whose confidence will be soaring now after outstanding displays,” said director of sport Christian Nerlinger, “they’ll be our foundation over the coming weeks.”

Mario Gomez and Ivica Olic have both been infrequent performers of late, the one generally a sub and the other injured, but they are now back among the goals. In Hannover, Olic laid on the opener for Thomas Müller and netted the second with his head, before Gomez rounded off the scoring in the last minute. “They again worked hard, and this time they were rewarded,” commented Nerlinger.