It’s that time of the year again, one that every football fan dreads: the winter break. At Bayern Munich, it’s usually a quiet winter with little action in the transfer window, and it usually marks the turning point in Bayern’s season: for better or worse. Basically, it’s boring and filled with anticipation. Don’t worry though, we have you covered with another installment in our midseason player ratings.
The Hinrunde has been a tumultuous ride. Bayern sits 4 points atop the Bundesliga but has been knocked out of the DFB Pokal by Bayer Leverkusen and sits outside the auto-qualification zone in the Champions League. While it remains to be seen what the Rückrunde holds, there is already a fair bit to reflect upon this season.
In this much-awaited edition of the midseason player ratings, we will take a look at Bayern’s wingers: the bunch truly exemplifies the bipolarity of Bayern’s Hinrunde performances.
All stats are taken from FBref and Transfermarkt and are accurate as of Bayern’s 5-1 win over RB Leipzig. Aside from the stats regarding minutes played, goals, and assists, the stats mentioned in the player analysis do not account for the DFB-Pokal — they are an average of player stats for the Bundesliga and the Champions League unless stated otherwise.
#10 Leroy Sané
915 minutes
4 goals
1 assist
Score: 4.5/10
Leroy Sané’s tenure at Bayern has long been marked by a brilliant Hinrunde followed by a painfully sub-par Rückrunde. This season was somehow worse because Sané failed to get into any rhythm at all. While one could argue that Sané beginning the season injured is a contributing factor, the truth is that we’ve all seen this version of Sané so often before.
Sané has often been detrimental to Bayern going forward, and his sheer lack of output and contribution this season is visible every time Bayern launches an attack. Sané seems unable to accomplish much of anything with the ball in the final third. This is not an unfounded claim either, because stats clearly reflect the same.
Sané has the least progressive passes (3.53 per 90), progressive carries (3.25 per 90), and passes into the penalty area (2.02 per 90) out of all Bayern wingers this season. Conversely, he has recieved the most progressive passes (16.8 per 90) but remains in the bottom two of the winger group for both shot and goal-creating actions in the Bundesliga.
Sané’s good performances thus far are simply few and far between, with the occasional goal to save an average performance. The bottom line is that regardless of how you approach his situation, Sané’s half-season performance does not help as his case as contract nears a close: right now, you can’t help but feel an extension would be a bad move on Bayern’s side.
#7 Serge Gnabry
1,008 minutes
2 goals
4 assists
Score: 4.5/10
Of late, Serge Gnabry has become the poster boy for inconsistency. Gnabry had a decent start to the season but fell into another slump as he often does, before grabbing an assist against Barcelona…after which he hasn’t garnered a single goal contribution. This half-season, like many others across the years, is a perfect representation of his career at Bayern post-2020. Gnabry picked up another injury in early December that put him out for the year, but Gnabry has become a shadow of who he once was: an explosive winger with a killer shot.
This season so far, Gnabry had the least goals scored per shot on target (0.25) while only taking marginally more shots on target than the average of Bayern’s other wingers (1.55 per 90 to 1.38 per 90)
With Gnabry, it’s always waiting for the next purple patch. Unfortunately for him, this Hinrunde didn’t yield one.
#11 Kingsley Coman
885 minutes
4 goals
2 assists
Score: 4.5/10
Coman has, as he often is, been a mixed bag this season. Coman often started games well before making one too many mistakes in the final third. Coman usually gets in the right spots while going forward, but his sheer inability to do anything of worth with the ball at his feet in crucial moments — particularly this season — is rather annoying. Regardless, he did have some good performances: notably against Union Berlin, and even against PSG, If we were to ignore his shooting attempts.
Coman’s crossing ability, or lack thereof, also remains a key issue: Coman completed the least crosses into the penalty area out of all Bayern wingers this season (0.29 per 90).
#17 Michael Olise
1,414 minutes
9 goals
8 assists
Score: 9.5/10
15%, 11% and 12%.
In just half a season, Olise has managed 15% of Sané’s, 11% of Gnabry’s, and 12% of Coman’s lifetime goal contributions for Bayern. The latter group has been at Bayern for anywhere between 5 to 10 years. Olise, 170 days. He is on pace out outperform every one of their best-ever seasons for the club in his first season here.
Olise is a presence this team has long yearned for: one can go on about his phenomenal qualities as a crosser, and his ability to score and dribble equally well — but what really makes him stand out amongst all of Bayern’s wingers is his unrivaled instinct in the final third.
Over the years, Bayern’s wingers have become so accustomed to playing a supportive role to a world-class striker that they have lost the ability to influence games on their own and create an impact when they are desperately needed. Olise on the other hand provides a threatening presence — his 17 goal contributions in 23 games have once again made Bayern’s right flank a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, there have been games where Olise’s presence failed to yield the benefits they usually do, and these games were marked clearly by losses that could have been avoided (Aston Villa, FC Barcelona, Levekusen), but Olise alone does not bear the responsibility for such games. He has thrived at Bayern, and there is a lot more in store for Munich’s latest nonchalant king.
#39 Mathys Tel
351 minutes
0 goals
0 assists
Score: N/R
Mathys Tel has had a particularly difficult Hinrunde. A lack of minutes and bang-average performances in the rare occasions that he has featured is a massive contrast to last season’s Hinrunde, and it seems like he is nearing a loan move — which might be the best way to ensure his development. At the moment, his progress is simply being hindered and his performances reflect the same. Either way, he does not clear the 500-minute threshold to get a rating.
Well, that’s that. Bayern’s problems in attack have often been assigned to a blunt attack incapable of turning their possession into goals — and that is largely down to the wingers. Do you agree with the ratings? What would you change? Tell us in the comments below!
Looking for some commentary and analysis on Bayern Munich’s first half of the season, including a suddenly red-hot Bundesliga title race, the biggest surprises and disappointment, along with where Bayern Munich can improve? Awesome, then check out our latest Bavarian Podcast Works Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
