Bayern Munich traveled to the Black Forest to take on what turned out to be a very game SC Freiburg squad.
Shunning the low block that so many other teams have used against Bayern Munich, Die Breisgau-Brasilianer played the Bavarians straight-up for the most part and gave a big challenge before ultimately succumbing 2-1. Here are some quick hitters on the match:
- As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI, which did feature some interesting selections:
- The first thing that jumps out was Michael Olise being benched in favor of Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry. Olise has been Bayern Munich’s most productive winger and while not perfect, he has been light years ahead of his teammates at the position. Aside of that, Joshua Kimmich took over at right-back, Eric Dier stepped in for Dayot Upamecano, who Christoph Freund said has a “slight muscular problem, nothing major.” Aleksandar Pavlović played in Kimmich’s normal midfield role. As expected, Raphaël Guerreiro played left-back due to the injury to Alphonso Davies.
- Bayern Munich’s attack was very dysfunctional early on, which could have been due to the multitude of new faces involved and the somewhat jumbled build-up. It did not improve all that much over the course of the match, either.
- Musiala rifled a shot in the 14th minute that hit the post, which gave the offensive group hope — and Harry Kane would step up to change Bayern Munich’s luck.
- Kane took a step toward Dier, received a pass from the center-back, hit a magnificent turn, and fired a shot to the far post to put Bayern Munich up 1-0 in the 15th minute. It was a fantastic goal from Kane.
- It needs to be said, all Dier has done since arriving at Bayern Munich last season is play his ass off and perform. The Englishman must be the worst practice player of all-time or the coaching staff just does not like him. It makes no sense that he has played so little when both center-backs have been banged up for stretches this season.
- SC Freiburg did buck the recent trend of Bayern Munich opponents who sat deep and attempted to wait things out. It was a much more aggressive approach from the home side.
- The poor crossing of Bayern Munich is killing too many possessions and potentially good opportunities.
- It was clear that SC Freiburg did not really have a fear of Bayern Munich.
- Kane was heavily involved in the build-up at times, which saw him very deep. Sometimes, way too deep, which prevented him from being involved in several key attacking sequences.
- The turf at SC Freiburg was very slick. There were several key slips in the first half.
- Goretzka picked up what looked to be a hamstring injury late in the first half was replaced by Josip Stanišić. Goretzka had been playing well in recent weeks, so this is probably a devastating feeling for him if this is an issue that will keep him out of an extended time.
- The first half was not a classic for Bayern Munich, but it represented some progress. Still, some of the same frustrations fans have experienced in recent weeks were still present. The second half was…not as good.
- Gnabry was very sloppy with his challenges in the defensive end, which was unlike him.
- The wings still just are not giving the team enough. It — borderline — is starting to feel like we are picking on them, but aside of the willingness to defend, there just is not enough quality play or consistency from any of the wingers aside of Olise.
- It could be a long few weeks with Guerreiro at left-back.
- In the 54th minute, Kimmich whipped in a corner and after about half a dozen replays, it was unclear how exactly the ball ended up in the net. It either hit Min-jae’s back or the goalkeeper’s hand. There was some thought that Min-jae could have interfered with Noah Atubolu, but after a look, VAR let the play stand.
- It is getting fair to wonder if Kompany’s desire to keep playing Coman, Gnabry, and Sané is going to land him on the hot seat.
- In the 68th minute, SC Freiburg finally got on the board with a header from Matthias Ginter, who came on as a halftime sub. Ginter’s header off of the corner of Ritsu Doan made things very tense. Per the broadcast team, that was the first goal scored by an SC Freiburg substitute this season.
- After the goal, you could feel the shift in momentum and Bayern Munich was hanging on by a thread.
- In the game’s waning moments, Kane looked to be playing an even deeper role (who knows if it was by design).
- Overall, Bayern Munich got the win and did, indeed, get the job done with three points. However, something is missing from this group at the moment. Fire? Confidence? Urgency? It is tough to put a finger on it. Maybe all three. Certainly, the team has several players consistently underperforming, but it should look better than it has looked for the majority of the games played this week. The threat and the danger that Bayern Munich once posed, just is not there at the moment. It needs to come back…quickly.
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:
RB Leipzig striker André Silva is firmly on the radar of West Ham:
Advanced talks are taking place between West Ham United and RB Leipzig over a move for striker André Silva.
Bayern Munich got battered in Rotterdam by Feyenoord and it opened up a whole lot of discussion about what might be going on with Bayern Munich and why the squad has come up so small at times this season.
Let’s talk about what is going on, why fans are so irate, and what might need to change ahead of next season:
- Is Joshua Kimmich correct? Is Bayern Munich not a top team at the moment?
- Will Kimmich’s decision on his future be impacted by games like Feyenoord?
- What is going on with Harry Kane?
- Kim Min-jae made another high-profile mistake at a time where he is playing with an injury. How can Bayern improve defensively?
- Should Vincent Kompany be on the hot seat? He said he knew what Feyenoord was going to do…so why was the result so bad?
- How much change needs to happen for 2025/26?
At one point Trevoh Chalobah was on Bayern Munich’s radar, but Chelsea did not want to sell the defender. Now, he is up for grabs:
Chelsea could look to sell £40m-rated Trevoh Chalobah permanently before the end of January, even though they have just recalled him from a loan spell at Crystal Palace.
After all of that rigmarole, Marcus Rashford might just stay put at Manchester United:
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford could be set to stay at Old Trafford, says Sky Sports Deutschland’s Florian Plettenberg. Despite “direct contact” ongoing between Borussia Dortmund and the Red Devils regarding a loan deal, it is said that the total valuation of the package — between €8m and €10m — is an issue that has reportedly also seen talks with AC Milan stall. The Bundesliga side’s hierarchy also have concerns about Rashford playing in the same position as winger Jamie Gittens.
Bayern Munich traveled to Rotterdam to face off with Feyenoord and while the Bavarians were not exactly given a warm reception, the visitors certainly did not make themselves at home either in a stunning 3-0 defeat.
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 looked confused and lethargic at times to start things off.
- Feyenoord was on a mission and goalkeeper Justin Bijlow was sensational.
- What a disaster for Bayern Munich.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
AC Milan wants Real Madrid youngster Arda Güler, who wants more field time:
AC Milan have reached out to discuss a long-term loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, who has made it clear to manager Carlo Ancelotti that he wants more minutes.
Could Manchester City’s Jack Grealish be on his way to Aston Villa? Maybe:
Manchester City winger Jack Grealish is of interest to Aston Villa, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, while both Borussia Dortmund and Inter are exploring deals to take the Englishman to mainland Europe.
