It is a slightly new look Bayern Munich under new manager Vincent Kompany with some of the personnel they have brought in during the summer transfer window and some of the plays they have bid farewell to. There could yet be more movements either way before the end of the summer transfer window later this month, but that will not stop the fact that the competitive season is already under way.
Kompany got his first official win as Bayern manager last week with the 4-0 win over SSV Ulm in the first round of the DFB-Pokal thanks to a brace from veteran Thomas Müller and goals from both Kingsley Coman and Harry Kane. The Belgian fielded a strong starting eleven and chose to go with the midfield anchor of Joshua Kimmich playing alongside Aleksandar Pavlović with Jamal Musiala, Mathys Tel, Serge Gnabry, and Müller starting in front of them.
With the addition of João Palhinha from Fulham this summer and the anticipated departure of Leon Goretzka, there has been a great deal of speculation as to what Kompany’s preferred setup in the center of midfield would be, but the system worked well against Ulm. The question is, will that be the preferred pairing for week one of the Bundesliga against VfL Wolfsburg?
For what it is worth, keeper Manuel Neuer liked what he saw from Kimmich against Ulm in particular, especially with how often he was able to get forward, just as he had done to assist Müller’s first of two goals. For Neuer, it is an indication of things to come this season for Kimmich in midfield, now that there are a handful of defensive midfielders in the squad and a clear direction of using Josip Stanišić and Sacha Boey at right-back instead of Kimmich.
“Jo [Joshua Kimmich] now had a more attacking position in midfield and played very well there. That’s the plan for now. Overall, it’s important that we implement in games the things we train. That worked well [against Ulm],” Neuer explained over the weekend, lauding Kimmich’s attacking prowess from the win over Ulm (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images
Personally for Kimmich, this will suit him, as it is well known he much prefers playing in midfield to right back. He is still able to do a job defensively for both Bayern and Germany, but Kompany will surely be able to keep the player happier when he is playing in midfield and given more license to roam forward in attack with other midfielder like Palhinha, Pavlović, Konrad Laimer, and even Raphaël Guerreiro at times.
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