Bayern Munich was firing on all cylinders as they dismantled Tottenham 2-1 in the Audi Summer Tour event in Seoul, South Korea. Vincent Kompany played a more experienced lineup than Ange Postecoglou and the Belgian was rewarded with a solid win.
Gabriel Vidović, the 20-year old Croatian, scored in the 4th minute and Leon Goretzka tapped in the game winner off his own rebound in the 56th minute. The first 60 minutes were all Bayern, as Tottenham struggled to move the ball around the pitch against Bayern’s tenacious press. The scoreline doesn’t reflect how many more chances Bayern created, but Bayern had twice as many shots.
Jersey Swap: Pedro Porro
Nobody on Tottenham had a particularly stunning performance. However, Porro delivered a powerful strike in the 66th minute to put the Londoners on the scoreboard.
Son Heung-min had an average performance by his standards, but still received applause from his home crowd even when he made mistakes.
Der Kaiser: Josip Stanišić
It’s good to have Stanišić playing for the good guys again. Stanišić was always well positioned, holding proper leverage and balance. He’s calm on the ball and defending in dangerous situations. Even when he coughed up the ball in the 80th minute, he immediately recovered the ball.
In the first half, his backline partnership with Kim Min-jae snuffed out Tottenham’s attacks early and often. Manuel Neuer was never asked to make a save and only had to make one clearance.
Fußballgott: Leon Goretzka
The Aleksandar Pavlović-Joshua Kimmich partnership controlled the midfield the entire first half, constantly winning possession and quickly moving the ball back into dangerous positions in the attacking third. Goretzka subbed on at halftime and quickly delivered a yellow card and goal.
Goretzka’s box-to-box movement overshadowed João Palhinha’s debut, as Goretzka did a better job anticipating the play. Palhinha will surely get caught up to speed, but Goretzka made it clear that he won’t be voluntarily ceding his playing time to Palhinha, Pavlović, or anybody else who gets in his way.
Der Bomber: Serge Gnabry
Gnabry knows that his roster position at Bayern is tentative at best. Bayern employed a high press and Gnabry took full advantage in the 4th minute, intercepting a poor ball from Guglielmo Vicario that resulted in Vidović giving Bayern the lead.
Gnabry continued to play aggressively and looked to be in excellent preseason form. A renaissance from players like Gnabry, Goretzka, and Thomas Müller will be crucial in Bayern’s journey toward some hardware this season.
Meister of the Match: Mathys Tel
The French winger was electric tonight. Incorporating his trademark fearlessness, Tel mixed in some clever flicks and quick cuts to keep the Tottenham defense on their heels. Technically, Tel won’t record an assist on the game winning goal, but his fluid movement served up the chance on a platter for Goretzka.
Tel is primed to double his minutes and be a top ten contributor for Bayern. With the return of Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane, and a healthy Leroy Sané, along with the addition of Michael Olise, Bayern’s attack has a very realistic chance of breaking the record for goals scored in a Bundesliga season.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s fun 2-1 friendly victory over Tottenham Hotspur? Good, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below: