A Week of Wins
January 19, 2025 On Wednesday, Leroy Sané (2), Raphaël Guerreiro, Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry all scored to absolutely demolish Hoffenheim 5-0. Sané opened the scoring in the sixth minute and the Bavarians never let up.
Saturday however was a bit of a different story. Bayern came out the gate really putting pressure on Wolfsburg. They had at least three great opportunities to score early on in the match through Sané, Kane and Coman but it wasn’t till the 20th minute that Goretzka hit a blast from outside the box to make it 1-0.
Just four minutes later however, Wolfsburg would level it 1-1 through a set piece in which Bayern defended very poorly. Bayern would largely dominate for the remainder of the half as they had several more opportunities, a penalty shout before taking the lead again through Olise who hit a strong skidding shot which the keeper fumbled into the back of the net 2-1.
Just before the end of the half, Joshua Kimmich appeared to make it 3-1 through a header, though it actually came off of his shoulder. After review VAR determined that the ball skimmed against his forearm and ruled it out. Yet another questionable decision but that was the way this match went.
Nevertheless Bayern would get their third goal in the 62 minute as Olise found Goretzka who buried his header 3-1. Bayern again would largely control the match until about the 80th minute when Wolfsburg really started to pressure the Munich side.
In the 88th minute Wolfsburg found the second goal and the last two minutes plus extra time saw the Bavarians struggling to keep the surging Wolfsburg side at bay. Ultimately they managed to keep them from finding that leveling goal and collected all three points.
Take Aways
Over all Bayern played reasonably well in both matches apart from the 10-15 minutes Wolfsburg put in where Bayern had apparently switched off. Sané and Goretzka both played well. Gnabry has looked dangerous in his return and Musiala also collected a few minutes.
However there is still plenty for Vincent Kompany to work on. Harry Kane hasn’t been bad, but he’s yet to finish a chance from open play. I don’t think this is anything to be too concerned about but it is something to keep an eye on.
The lapse in the Wolfsburg match, with careless give aways, bad passing and poor defending is something that Kompany will really need to focus on with the team. While it is human nature to lose concentration at times, you can’t do so to the point where you are allowing teams back into the match.
Goretzka Conundrum
Goretzka’s performances are once again calling into question his position in the squad. I have made no secret of my opinion on the matter and despite the goals, I stand by it.
Goretzka is a very good player. However, he does not really fit into Bayern’s system. He is best as a box to box midfielder or as a number ten. Bayern play with two sixes and a ten. He is a mediocre six and there are at least two to three players better than him at the ten.
It would be a shame to see a player of his quality stuck in this team his entire career where he can never truly flourish. He will always have a few moments like he’s having right now, but when it comes to the bigger teams or more attacking opponents, he is practically unplayable in this system.
Upcoming Fixtures
The next three matches will come quick and are against teams that Bayern will feel like they should beat. However those matches could ultimately prove to be tricky with two must win Champions League matches and a tricky away match in the Bundesliga against Freiburg.
Wednesday sees them travel to Feyenoord who have struggled recently in the CL but who could still pose a threat, especially at home if they are overlooked. Then they travel to Freiburg who currently sit tied for seventh in the Bundesliga but are always tough to beat, especially at home.
Finally they host Slovan Bratislava who are winless in the CL this season and likely to remain so but again, Bayern will need to put up a good performance if they wish to get that automatic qualification by finishing in the top 8.
This will be a pivotal period for the Bavarians in the season as one slip up could well hurt their chances on both fronts.
