Few were expecting Bayern Munich to not steamroll Union Saint-Gilloise. As it happened, though, the Belgian outfit did a Leipzig (relentless pressure) and a Gladbach (sitting back and counter attacking) and made the Bavarians work for the win. A brace from Harry Kane, one from the spot, proved enough for the Rekordmeister to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. This ensured that they will bypass the dreaded play-offs. Despite the relative lack of action in that match, it still spawned some talking points.
When the lineups came out, most fans thought that it was Aleksandar Pavlović and Tom Bischof in midfield with Raphaël Guerreiro and Joshua Kimmich as the left and right sided fullbacks. Instead, it was Guerreiro on the right, Bischof on the left, and Pavlović and Kimmich in midfield.
This was baffling to see. There aren’t many fit senior players who can play right-back save for Guerreiro but even then he’s not that good a defender. Kimmich continuously insisting on playing in midfield says a lot. Bischof is not a proper fullback and Guerreiro is a more natural fit on the left; the concessions that the coach and team must make just to let Kimmich play in his preferred position is just unbelievable.
If, and that’s a big IF, Kimmich explicitly ruled himself playing at right-back, then shame on him. A few years ago, he said that he doesn’t mind playing anywhere but lately he has been hard-headed about playing in midfield. Never mind him positively influencing the match, this implies that he values his status more than the likes of an up-and-comer like Bischof. The compatibility of Pavlović and Bischof is an entirely different conversation.
Vincent Kompany should also think the setup over in this match because the way that Bayern was letting Union SG through that easily means something wasn’t right.
Yup, that about sums up one of the observations for today. Olise is simply an insane player. The Frenchman assisted Harry Kane today and threaded a pass to Kane that won Bayern a penalty. This after his monster performance against Leipzig, where he came off the bench and helped himself to a hat-trick of assist and a goal. Indispensable, to say the least.
Wingers are normally asked to defend when needed, and Olise and Luis Díaz have exemplified that here. Lucho is known for tracking back and getting back up the pitch once his team regains possession, but Olise has now added that quality to his already loaded repertoire.
The ref in this match was Horrible with a capital H
This is a recurring theme for Bayern now: random referees who are out of their depth. The one they got today was no better than the one against Paris Saint-Germain: just a boatload of questionable calls and once again sent a Bayern player off when they shouldn’t have been sent off. Win or lose and even if he indicates a penalty for Bayern, a referee’s performance must be called out when appropriate.
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