Bayern Munich hosted VfL Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga battle between two teams coming off big victories.
The Bavarians would outlast Wolfsburg 3-2 in a match that might have felt like it got a little too close for comfort. Regardless, Bayern Munich picked up a quality win and three points to stay atop the Bundesliga table. Here are some quick hitters on the match:
As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:
- Vincent Kompany definitely got a bit wild with this one. Jamal Musiala stayed on the bench, but so did Thomas Müller, which left an attacking group comprised of Harry Kane, Leroy Sané, Michael Olise, and Kingsley Coman. That was surprising, to say the least. Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka stepped into the lineup for Aleksandar Pavlović. Konrad Laimer stepped back in at right-back for Raphaël Guerreiro, while Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano were once again the pairing at center-back, which sent Eric Dier back to the bench.
- First instinct — this was a really risky move to play three players who excel more at wing together and not using a true attacking midfielder. Seeing Goretzka and Laimer was not all that surprising as Kompany seems to want to rotate a little more in those positions given the quality performances that he has been getting from those players (Goretzka, Pavlović, Laimer, Guerreiro). However, it would be nice to see Joshua Kimmich get some rest, though this was probably not the game to do that.
- With Olise occupying the No. 10 role, Bayern Munich went to work early. Sané hit the woodwork in the 3rd minute, Kane fired a shot right at Kamil Grabara in the 4th minute, and Coman narrowly missed a header attempt in the 5th minute. Coman should have scored on a breakaway in the 7th minute, but Grabara saved it. Bayern Munich’s pressure was so great that it felt like there could eventually be a drop off in intensity.
- Grabara’s performance in the first few minutes was so solid, it was the kind of thing where you would not be surprised to see Bayern Munich linked to him after the match. I’m not advocating for it, but we have seen it a million times.
- Bundesliga observation: There is a ridiculous amount of diving this season. The second anyone feels contact, they are hitting the deck like they just got taken out by a sniper. It is not just diving, either, it is diving for no reason. On Friday, Serhou Guirassy inexplicably dove after feeling a bit of contact from behind, but there was no one in front of him — he was all alone and bearing down on net, yet he dove. Aside of that one example, though, there is plenty more of it going on. It’s getting ludicrous.
- In the 20th minute, all of Bayern Munich’s pressure and hard work would eventually produce a goal. An aggressive step from Kim Min-jae won possession, with the ball ending up with Joshua Kimmich, who hit a streaking Leon Goretzka in stride and the midfielder ripped a long-range, hard groundball that beat Grabara to his right. It was a tremendous play by Goretzka, who is playing extremely well under Kompany.
- Wolfsburg, though, would answer quickly. Off of a set piece, a scrum in the center caused Laimer to overcommit from his right-back position, which left Mohamed Amoura an open shooting lane. Olise could have done a much better job of getting goal-side on Amoura who went far-post on Neuer for a 25th minute goal. The scrum centrally saw Goretzka and Min-jae collapse, but Laimer made the decision to jump in, which left Amoura open. Olise, though, was really lackadaisical in recognizing what was going on.
- Kane was moving better than he did in some recent games, but there was an interesting sequence in the 38th minute, where Kane went to make a diagonal run in the box; he ran into the back of Sané and gave the winger a shove. Too many times this season, wingers have pushed into the middle of the box and subsequently choked out Kane’s space to operate. The Englishman might just be entering “Lewandowski Mode” as Bayern Munich fans will remember the Pole’s disdain for his wingers getting in his way.
- In the 39th minute, though, Olise ended up with the ball just outside the box and ripped a shot that was headed directly at Grabara, but took a slight deflection off of a Wolfsburg defender that confused the goalkeeper, who reacted too late to the change of direction. Bayern Munich held a 2-1 lead, but it was far from a comfortable feeling.
- In the 3rd minute of added time, it looked like Kimmich made it 3-1 when he sprinted into the box for a running header. Coman lofted in a nice cross after Goretzka sent him in. It was quite the half for Goretzka even if that goal was disallowed due to Kimmich actually using his arm to direct the ball into the net.
- Goretzka would pick up Kimmich with his second goal of the match. Olise lofted in a cross and the rangy midfielder ran into it for a header goal to make it 3-1 in the 62nd minute.
- Olise is going to be one of those players who you will be in awe of for the majority of his time on the pitch, but who will also drive you crazy in little moments where he loses focus. Regardless, he just keeps producing for Bayern Munich…and we’ll take it!
- It was clear that Bayern Munich saw a deficiency in how Wolfsburg was tracking runs into the box by midfielders and Kimmich and Goretzka were too good on the day not to exploit it.
- In the 70th minute, Coman had an absolute beauty of a chance after he hauled in a long ball from Neuer and found himself on a breakaway…until he missed the net. That…was bad. Coman took the miss hard and was visibly distraught, especially after leaving the game.
- In the 88th, Amoura made it 3-2 after a complete loss of focus in the Bayern Munich midfield and defense. Poor tackling and worse positioning combined to give Wolfsburg a great chance. It looked like Bayern Munich had packed it in early.
- Gnabry had a great chance to feed Musiala for a great chance in the 90th minute, but looked off his teammate and went himself, only to see his shot saved. Musiala was visible frustrated. It does appear that the wingers are getting a little tight with the competition at the position.
- Overall, Bayern Munich picked up a hard-fought victory over a good team. It was not perfect, but this was never going to be a game where Wolfsburg would allow Bayern Munich to get anywhere close to that. Kompany will have some interesting lineup choices to make against Feyenoord…let’s see what he concocts for the first Champions League game of 2025.
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:
Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel is not going anywhere per recent reports. However, if Bayern Munich — somehow — finds a way to acquire Chelsea FC’s Christopher Nkunku, things could change for Tel:
Mathys #Tel has once again made it clear in recent days that, as of now, he wants to stay at FC Bayern.
Bayern still in contact with Chelsea and super agent Pini Zahavi would like to realize Christopher Nkunku’s transfer to Bayern until Deadline Day. But currently, there are no developments. #CFC
Personal terms with Bayern, 100 % agreed as revealed. Should a January move prove to be impossible, #Nkunku remains an option for Bayern in the summer.
Bayern Munich is fresh off a 5-0 stomping of Hoffenheim, but the club could be facing bigger battles in the boardroom than on the pitch these days.
Let’s talk about it all. This is what we have on tap for this episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Here comes the winger surge — and how about Mathys Tel making some progress?
- Let’s talk about Bayern Munich’s rumored signing of Tom Bischof. What it means, what about the timing, and how likely is it that the deal is already fully done?
- Is Jonas Urbig the next one? Bayern Munich might have its limits in how good it feels about the FC Köln goalkeeper.
- What’s going on with Alphonso Davies?
- Should we make anything out of the Ousmane Diomande rumors?
After a horrid run of play, Borussia Dortmund could be looking to flip some things. Now, BVB has its eyes on Brentford’s Kevin Schader:
⚫️ Borussia Dortmund have Kevin #Schade high on their list!
There has already been initial contact with the player’s camp, but no talks have taken place between the clubs yet. @berger_pj
Brentford would not consider anything below €40m.
FC Barcelona is reportedly also in the mix for Chelsea’s Christian Nkunku:
Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign Christopher Nkunku on a six-month loan deal from Chelsea, with the Frenchman a viable alternative to Marcus Rashford.
Midweek Bundesliga action means Marcus goes over the games one by one without any pre-show notes! Delivering his analysis acapella-style through the Matchday 17 action, using only the limited ball knowledge he has in his head!
As a result, this episode discusses:
- Why Erik ten Hag to Borussia Dortmund might be a good idea.
- Holstein Kiel: The warriors from the North!
- Marcus’ love letter to the beautiful football club that is VfL Bochum.
- Why RB Leipzig are not ‘serious people’ …and much more!
AC Milan is working hard to get Manchester United attacker Marcus Rashford:
AC Milan have the most pronounced interest in signing Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford on loan until the end of the season, but Barcelona is his priority, reports Sky Sports. Borussia Dortmund and Juventus have distanced themselves from bringing in the 27-year-old and the Red Devils are now awaiting formal offers.
João Félix’s wayward career is still not on track — yet clubs continue to want to pay him based on his potential (there has to be an expiration date on potential, right?):
Chelsea forward João Félix is considering his options and could leave Stamford Bridge if the Blues receive a suitable offer this month.
Bayern Munich were not very hospitable to visiting Hoffenheim.
The Bavarians came out on fire, racked up two early goals and cruised to a 5-0 victory over a Hoffenheim side that is completely off the rails.
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.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Bayern Munich came out with a determined look and looked like it knew it needed to get out to a quick start. The Bavarians just dominated.
- What is wrong with Hoffenheim?
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
Liverpool FC star Mo Salah is still drawing interest from the Middle East:
Saudi Arabian clubs are looking to finalise a deal to sign Mohamed Salah, with Al Hilal leading the race, says The Sun. Salah, 32, is out of contract in the summer and the Saudi league are preparing to offer him a salary of £65m for two years. Meanwhile, Sport says that the league are also planning to move for some of Barcelona’s squad, namely: Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, Andreas Christensen, Ansu Fati and Robert Lewandowski.
İlkay Gündoğan could be thinking about a move from Manchester City to Galatasaray:
İlkay Gündoğan is considering leaving Man City again as Turkish giants Galatasaray show interest.
