Jamal Musiala missed a huge opportunity
The first few weeks after Musiala’s return were given some large leeway. It is always difficult to come back from such a significant injury and make a large impact. On top of that, Vincent Kompany’s attack looks completely different this season and Luis Díaz is a major part of that.
Fans knew there would be some concerns when he returned, but put simply, he has not been the same since coming back. Everyone knows how much talent the young German has, but patience can only last so long. It has been enough time that people will start becoming more critical of Musiala, and unfortunately, he did not take advantage of a major opportunity starting in this match.
Compared to his attacking peers, he made nowhere close to the same impact as Lucho or even young starlet Lennart Karl. Did he play bad? No, but it feels like this was the opportunity to shine and while the penalty goal was a nice little bump of confidence, it isn’t enough. Musiala has the potential to be the face of this club over the next decade, and surely everyone is expecting him to get back to that level soon. Here’s hoping.
Musiala winning Man of the Match seems like more of an emotional vote, rather than one of true judgement.
Tom Bischof takes advantage of huge opportunity
Fans have been crying out all season to see Tom Bischof get significant playing time. With Bayern Munich’s recently extended lead in the Bundesliga title race, this was the perfect opportunity. Thankfully, Vincent Kompany listened to fans’ prayers, but Bischof was once again selected in the left-back role.
A position he is fully capable, and has succeeded in, but it is hard to shake off the feeling that the former Hoffenheim talent still has more to offer. Unfortunately for Bischof, Goretzka’s performance will likely mean he will remain far down in the pecking order for midfield options.
Out of all of this though, an intriguing new question has presented itself to Julian Nagelsmann — can Bischof be played at left-back for the World Cup? It is not unthinkable based on his performance today as long as he can get some serious minutes in the coming matches. With the depletion currently at the left-back position, why not let Bischof cook?
Lennart Karl is ready to make Julian Nagelsmann’s squad
While Lennart Karl is not a player who lacks confidence, he was perhaps more confident than ever today. Karl took basically every shot opportunity he had. While he didn’t find the back of the net, he found great pockets of space, and there are no concerns with his shooting technique.
This was unfortunately a missed opportunity for Karl to get another goal to his name, but hopefully Julian Nagelsmann noticed this great performance, as it doesn’t always come down to goals. It is true that Karl is not a complete player right now, but his ability to change the game as a X-factor both on or off the bench, surely has to be noticed.
Goretzka proves his worth
Goretzka is a player that surely will go down in Bayern history as perhaps the most criticized player of his era. Despite his lackluster performances in recent years, Leon Goretzka was a different beast on Friday. While Lennart Karl was slightly offside for what would’ve been the game’s opening goal, Goretzka gave one of the sharpest through balls we have seen from the German veteran.
The midfielder seemed to have some big confidence in this match, putting some uncharacterstically sharp dribbling skills on display, and making aggressive runs in attack. He would later add a successful assist, and while he didn’t shine as bright after the first twenty or so minutes, he had a solid performance. Perhaps Nagelsmann’s hype up did him some good.
Harry Kane isn’t just a product of this offense
Many fans quickly defended Robert Lewandowski as the debate between the two great Bayern Munich strikers continues. Kane is chasing the Polish striker’s single-season record for Bundesliga goals. A large point of contention is that Lewandowski had a far worse attack around him, and the fact he scored so many goals is a testament to his greatness. This is absolutely true.
Kane has played with an exceptional Bayern attack and perhaps the greatest its ever seen in its current form, however, that does not take away from Kane’s greatness. Kane functions almost entirely differently from Lewandowski despite playing the same position and despite how similarly their goal scoring abilities are. Against Gladbach, it was evident that you can’t throw anyone in the striker position and expect the same greatness just because of how exceptional this offense has been. This shouldn’t shock most, but there seems to be a segment of the fanbase that is massively underrating Kane’s talent.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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