Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Holstein Kiel; Marcus Rashford to Aston Villa?; Borussia Dortmund getting close with Rayan Cherki?: Arsenal to get top Barca target?; FC Barcelona locking up young star?; and MORE!

Bayern Munich hosted Holstein Kiel in a match that looked like a total mismatch on paper.

That would not exactly prove to be the case if everything was judged by the final score. The Bavarians did tally a 4-3 victory over the visitors. Holstein Kiel had chances, but could not take advantage of them early, which was a death knell against a Bayern Munich squad just waiting to break through for a few goals. The visitors would rally late, but it was not enough to catch the Bavarians.

Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:

• Vincent Kompany went pretty standard with things. He kept Raphaël Guerreiro at left-back after a string of iffy performances, Konrad Laimer returned to right-back. Neither Sacha Boey, nor Josip Stanišić found a way into the starting lineup, which was at least a little surprising as it pertains to Stanišić. Predictably, Kompany went right back to Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, despite both players recently battling injuries. Kingsley Coman won the battle opposite Michael Olise over Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané.
• Kompany is not adjusting, nor adapting. He seems to be caught in a routine of relying on some players too much.
• The beginning of the match saw Holstein Kiel do exactly what many thought they would do — sit back and absorb. However, Holstein Kiel did eventually show some aggression in at least trying to push forward.
• Bayern Munich would find a way to break through, though, in the 19th minute when Olise cut back a pass to Jamal Musiala who slid in a perfect shot to the far post to make it 1-0. That seemed to ease some of the tension and was a terrific finish for Musiala.
• In the 26th minute, Holstein Kiel’s Lewis Holtby should have tied the match, but a poor shot attempt was cleared off the line by Min-jae. It was a thorough breakdown on the backline for Bayern Munich against a team not exactly known for its goal scoring.
• Olise, Kimmich, and Aleksandar Pavlović all would have good chances as well in the first half, but either just missed or saw their attempts saved.
• By the 30th minute, Holstein Kiel started looking really tired.
• Notably, Harry Kane was not all that active in the attack until the third minute of added time when Coman chipped in a cross to Kane, whose header made it 2-0 just before halftime. That would wake Kane up.
• It was not a banner first half for the attack (again) in terms of efficiency with chances, but Kane’s goal seemed to give Bayern Munich some life and let some of the air out of Holstein Kiel’s balloon. Bayern Munich did hold 78% possession and fire off 12 shots, which represented some progress.
• Olise was subbed off after the half due to a knock he sustained toward the end of the first half. It could have been a precautionary exit.
• Kane did not wait long to get another goal in the second half. Guerreiro lofted a nice cross into the center of the box and Kane used more precision than power for his header for the 3-0 lead in the 46th minute.
• In the 54th minute, Serge Gnabry had one of the most sensational goals of the season. A deflected shot from Coman came to Gnabry, who volleyed it from one foot to the other and ripped off a cracker of shot to make it 4-0. You absolutely need to see this goal.
• In the 62nd minute, a poor turnover from Min-jae directly led to a great chance for Finn Porath, who unleashed a terrific shot to make it 4-1. It should be noted that there appeared to be a miscommunication between Min-jae, Gnabry, and Guerreiro that contributed to the goal, but Min-jae’s errant pass was the catalyst.
• The game could have easily been 7-1 or 8-1 at this stage, but Holstein Kiel goalkeeper Timon Weiner had several excellent saves.
• Amid transfer rumors, Adam Aznou made an appearance, which was curious. He did not exactly take advantage of the opportunity.
• However, Bayern Munich’s defense went in the toilet in added time and Steven Skrzybski scored two goals (the second one set up by a rebound from a shot by Fiete Arp…LONG LIVE THE #ARPTRAIN).
• Overall, Bayern Munich was dominant (until those last three minutes, eh?) — as it should have been against Holstein Kiel. It was refreshing to see the quality of some of the goals and to also see Bayern Munich wear down Holstein Kiel. However, that late flurry of scoring from Holstein Kiel took some of the luster off of what was otherwise a fairly dominant performance. What an odd game! Regardless, I can’t be too bothered with the end result. It was not perfect, but sometimes in a blowout, defensive lapses happen. Kompany will need to get that ironed out and ensure his squad is more capable of going the full 90 minute with optimal focus.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:

In a move that would certainly have an effect on the Mathys Tel sweepstakes, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford could be headed to Aston Villa:

Fabrizio Romano checked in as well later in the day:

Both clubs have been linked to Tel, which could mean that the Red Devils are now firmly in the driver’s seat.

Bayern Munich is in the middle of quite a few things at the moment, so let’s try to tackle some of the most pertinent topics of discussion. Here is what we have on tap for this edition of the Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Mathys Tel’s transfer situation is a failure by the club, the coaching staff, and the player. None of them had a plan for this season and it led to this.
• If Tottenham Hotspur wants to pay a crazy fee for Tel, Bayern Munich should sell him.
• No one should be calling for Vincent Kompany’s head, but he does need to be held accountable for the team’s performances of late — and his man management, which is leaving a lot to be desired.
• Niko Kovač was hired by Borussia Dortmund…is that a good fit?
• Bayern Munich could miss out on Xavi Simons as he looks likely to make a permanent move to RB Leipzig.

Borussia Dortmund could be getting closer to landing Lyon’s Rayan Cherki:

Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg added more information later as well:

⚫️ Sebastian Kehl is currently working on reaching a verbal agreement with Rayan Cherki’s camp. #BVB

All parties are very confident that an agreement will be reached this evening.

After that, Dortmund will enter negotiations with Olympique Lyon. However, negotiations shouldn’t be an issue, as #Cherki can leave due to a €22.5 million release clause.

Jefferson Savarino (Botafogo) set to replace Cherki in Lyon.

For some amateur onomasticians, the Bundesliga was never better than when the league had Max Phillipp and Philipp Max on different teams. For years now, the Daily Schmankerl has been infatuated with Max Philipp’s career arc and just how many different clubs he has played for.

Well, it looks like Philipp is heading to Union Berlin. Since 2013, Philipp has played for SC Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund, Dynamo Moscow, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, and SC Freiburg (again!):

It should be noted that before his initial stint at SC Freiburg, Philipp had played at the youth level for Hertha Berlin, Tennis Borussia Berlin Youth, and FC Energie Cottbus.

Bayern Munich knew what was at stake against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League and got three points.

However, the Bavarians did not catch all of the breaks needed for a top eight finish and will now look toward the playoff round of the competition for the next step.

Bayern Munich was convincing in capturing a 3-1 victory and the game did leave a lot of discussion fodder. Let’s talk about how it all went down and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:

• A look at the starting XI and what was surprising. (Hint: Who needs center-backs?)
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.

Arsenal FC could be willing to take a run a Nico Williams:

Arsenal are willing to pay the €50m (£42m) release clause of Athletic Club forward Nico Williams, scuppering the winger’s dream transfer to Barcelona.

FC Barcelona seems well on its way to officially locking down Pedri with a long-term deal:

Barcelona have verbally agreed a new contract with star midfielder Pedri stretching to 2030, following on from successful negotiations with Ronald Araujo.