In the opening two Bundesliga games, Bayern Munich manager, Vincent Kompany, wasn’t exactly experimental with his midfield selection, starting a trio of Aleksandar Pavlović, Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala.
Bayern’s third Bundesliga match against Holstein Kiel, however, saw a small adjustment with Portuguese international João Palhinha coming in for Pavlović.
The move was likely a good litmus test for Palhinha against slightly weaker opposition, but after a strong performance from the 29-year-old, Kompany may have left himself with a selection dilemma ahead for Bayern’s Champions League clash against GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
Vincent Kompany touched on the competition in Bayern’s midfield, highlighting the amount of quality available (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
“We’re lucky to have the luxury in this position. There’s Palhinha, who’s a very good player as we saw today. Kimmich has also been great so far. Konni Laimer, Pavlović, an Incredible talent, Goretzka as well, very important. They simply have to fight to play as much as possible. Today Palhinha played a good game, just like Pavlović in the past two games. They have to carry on. It’s good for us,” said Kompany.
As bizarre as the Leon Goretzka situation is, it is crazy that a player of such quality finds himself at the bottom of the midfield pecking order. It goes to show the quality and depth of the midfield at Bayern at the moment, especially with the emergence of the mega talent, Aleksandar Pavlović.
While the quality and depth of Bayern’s midfield may cause a selection dilemma for Kompany, it may just as equally give him a tactical advantage. A deep and diverse midfield may allow Bayern to adjust to a variety of opponents according to their unique needs for the each game.
Luxury is the appropriate word for Bayern’s midfield at the moment. That being said, Kompany’s greatest task will be finding a balance amongst the midfield, and the rest of the squad for that matter. Should the Belgian coach fail to do so, a deep and quality squad will become thin and inferior.
An easy task? Not by any means.
Who would your ideal Bayern Munich midfield consist of? Let us know in the comments below.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s massive 6-1 blowout of Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga? Great, then we have just what you need with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show, which is available on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
