Daily Schmankerl: How Bayern Munich’s Vincent Kompany bolstered Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano; Chelsea still vying for Victor Osimhen; Liverpool to make a move for Mykhaylo Mudryk; Cristiano Ronaldo knows clock is ticking on career; and MORE!

Following a shaky showing, reports had emerged — among a lot of criticism — that Vincent Kompany had taken the back of his sometimes maligned defensive duo of Kim Min-Jae and Dayot Upamecano.

In particular, Min-jae had a tough day against the Wolves. However, Kompany made a stand in front of the squad to make the point that he was all good with Upamecano and Min-jae, per Sport Bild’s Christian Falk:

After the game against Wolfsburg, where there was renewed criticism against Kim and Upamecano, Vincent Kompany reacted immediately. In front of the entire team, the coach stood up for the two defenders and spoke about what a huge task it is for them to defend so high up the pitch, sometimes 50 meters from their own goal – always with the risk that the slightest mistake could be punished by the opponent with all the free space left behind. Kim and Upamecano were grateful for the unexpected gesture of support from the coach.

That was a noble action from Kompany, but the duo will be tested soon enough. Bayern Munich are certainly hoping that the confidence boost provided by the boss will make a big difference when that time comes.

Chelsea FC and Victor Osimhen are still nodding at each other from across the bar:

Chelsea remain interested in Victor Osimhen but will have to wait until closer to January to make any progress on a deal for the striker, says Fabrizio Romano.

The Nigeria international is currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, where he has scored two goals in his first three appearances, having fallen out with the Italian club after a summer where he made it clear he wanted to leave.

Osimhen was negotiating a transfer worth €80m with Saudi side Al Ahli, but it fell apart and Chelsea could not close a deal on Deadline Day. However, the Blues don’t seem to have given up in their pursuit of Osimhen, despite missing out on signing him this summer.

Welcome to episode four of the Bundesliga Rundown with Marcus Iredahl!

In this episode, we dive into Matchday 5 and the ultimate clash: the reigning champions against the record champions.

Marcus also explains why FC St. Pauli’s win was more than just 3 points and will reveal his thoughts on the new ‘Relevent’ partnership in the ‘Bundesliga Spotlight of the Week’ segment.

Additionally, Marcus will cover:

• Why Freiburg and new head coach Julian Schuster should not cry over spilt milk against FC St. Pauli.
• How Vincent Kompany is already fixing Bayern’s damaged reputation.
• The unique world of St. Pauli and Hafenstraße.
• …and much more!

Bayern Munich stars Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, and Harry Kane were all named to WhoScored.com’s Bundesliga Team of the Month:

As Chelsea FC looks to unload quite a few players, Liverpool FC might be keeping an eye on Mykhaylo Mudryk:

Liverpool are reportedly ready to offer Chelsea a chance to offload struggling winger Mykhaylo Mudryk in January, according to TEAMtalk.

Mudryk, 22, signed for an initial £62m in January 2023 but has only seven goals and six assists in 64 appearances.

The Ukraine international had also been linked with Arsenal but now it appears Liverpool are open to a transfer if it costs around £30m. And with Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho now the first-choice wingers for Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge, it could be a deal the Blues accept.

Mudryk has also been loosely linked to Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich’s performance against Leverkusen was one that displayed dominance, but was found lacking on the scoresheet. With Vincent Kompany focused on ironing out weaknesses, the upcoming game against Aston Villa in the Champions League gives the team the opportunity to make a statement against a familiar, albeit unpleasant foe in Unai Emery.

In this episode, Cyler and Schnitzel discuss the following:

• What went right against Leverkusen, and what didn’t
• Do Bayern fans have reason to worry already?
• Unai Emery’s Villarreal side of 2022 giving Schnitzel Vietnam flashbacks
• How should Bayern be set up to counter low-blocks?
• A lot of juicy tactical rambling (perfect for fellow tactitzels)
• A breakdown of Villa’s squad and gameplan
• How is Bayern going to deal with Harry Kane’s absence?
• Lineup predictions and potential strategies
• Final scoreline prediction

Cristiano Ronaldo can see that the time left in his career is dwindling:

Has there ever been a player you could say is not worth the headache more than Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé?:

Paris Saint-Germain winger Ousmane Dembélé has not travelled to London for his team’s game against Arsenal in the Champions League after a row with head coach Luis Enrique, sources have confirmed to ESPN’s Julien Laurens.

Dembélé has been dropped by Luis Enrique after the pair argued on Saturday, a day after their 3-1 win over Rennes. The club is in support of the coach’s decision, sources told ESPN.

France international Dembélé has made an excellent start to the Ligue 1 season, scoring four goals and providing four assists in six games with PSG top of the division.

Luis Enrique has previously emphasised the importance of discipline to his players. Last season, he chose to travel to Toulouse without Kylian Mbappé and Dembélé because they hadn’t worked enough in training.

Well, it finally happened.

Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen faced in a match that was months in the making. The defending champs vs. the Rekordmeister…and it ended up in a draw. In a game full of imaginative subplots, neither team could muster up enough offense to break though the other.

There is a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

• A look at the starting XI.
• A rundown of the substitutes and scoring.
• Bayern Munich did a lot of effective things — find out where we thought the Bavarians excelled.
• Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen did not seem like it wanted to really come out and trade punches with Bayern Munich. What gives with that?
• What we learned from this match about both teams.