He may have stiff competition from Timo Werner, Lars Stindl and Mario Gomez among others, but after his first competitive Bayern Munich goal - in Saturday’s 5-2 rout of former employers Hofenheim - Sandro Wagner has declared himself “the best German striker.”
Wagner was Germany’s joint-top scorer in FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying with five goals, a tally only new Bayern teammate Thomas Müller was able to match, but after swapping Sinsheim for Bavaria in the winter transfer window, many questioned whether playing second fiddle to a certain Robert Lewandowski would harm his chances of making the final 23-man cut. Wagner, though, is having none of it.
“In my eyes I’m the best German striker,” he beamed after scoring Bayern’s final goal at the Allianz Arena, five minutes after replacing Joshua Kimmich. “And without relying on statistics, as I couldn’t care less about those. To me, It’s just important that my performance is up to standard. I’m with the best team in Germany, scored a goal, and so I’m where I’m where I should be.”
Wagner’s tally of five Bundesliga goals this season leaves him some way behind Werner, Kevin Volland, Mark Uth and Nils Petersen - German strikers who have 10 apiece - but there is one stat very much in Wagner’s favour: his goals-to-minutes ratio.
Watch: Wagner: "I'm the best German striker!"
“Today was just a quick match [for me],” he said. “But I’m glad as I’ve scored my first goal for Bayern. I’ve had 30 minutes on the pitch and already scored a goal. It feels good.“