Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona; Toni Kroos talks retirement; Joshua Zirkzee to leave Manchester United?; Inter Milan wants Jonathan Tah; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia news; and MORE!

Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona squared off in the Champions League and this was not a game for the faint of heart.

Neither coach backed down from their aggressive tactics, which left fans on the edge of their respective seats for much of the match. In the end, though, Barça out-classed Bayern Munich for a 4-1 win. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s open up with Vincent Kompany’s starting XI:

• Given the news of the past few days, this was exactly as expected. The surprise, of course, was the status of Jamal Musiala. After partaking in consecutive days of team training, it was assumed that the youngster would be ready to start the match against FC Barcelona. Instead, Thomas Müller got the nod.
• Less than a minute into the game, we found out who would falter first in the battle of the high-lines. Kim Min-jae got over-aggressive in trying to battle Robert Lewandowski in the build-up as the striker was doing his best to hold play up. That set off a chain of bad positioning, which led to Joshua Kimmich being left flat-footed as a last line of defense against a streaking Raphinha. It did not end well for Bayern Munich, as Raphinha timed his run perfectly, went in all alone, and had no one but Manuel Neuer to beat for a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
• While the chain of events started with Min-jae, it was a complete breakdown of the team’s structure and defense…all six players at the back (four defenders, two central midfielders) had a hand in that one.
• In the eighth minute, Harry Kane was “in” on FC Barcelona goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, but took just a bit too big of a touch, which allowed Peña to make a play on the ball.
• Just about a minute later, Thomas Müller sent in a beautiful cross, which Kane headed into the net, but the striker sloppily allowed himself to drift just offside. It was an unnecessary offside and the second consecutive play in which a Kane error prevented a goal.
• That was NOT the start that Kane was looking for, but he would make up for it in the 18th minute when Serge Gnabry sent in a cross — only this time, Kane stayed onside and put the ball into the back of the net to knot the game at 1-1.
• Neither Hansi Flick nor Vincent Kompany blinked with tactics, which made for a very nervy match.
• That frantic style of play would go on, with each team showing how threatening it could look, and that chaos would pay off for FC Barcelona. An aerial ball into Fermín López led to a duel between López and Min-jae. López gave the bigger, stronger center-back a subtle nudge, Min-jae headed the ball backward into no man’s land, which caused Manuel Neuer to storm out of his net. López then got to the ball, poked it over to Lewandowski, who was not going to miss an open net. Barca took a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute and Min-jae’s nightmare first half got worse.
• Just nine minutes later, Marc Casadó’s diagonal switch to a (once again) streaking Raphinha saw the FC Barcelona speedster smoke Raphaël Guerreiro and take advantage of a very tentative Dayot Upamecano to make it 3-1.
• Upamecano, who was really high up the pitch and left Guerreiro isolated, had a terrific effort to get to the spot and just didn’t go for the tackle. Weird. It was almost as if he pulled up at the last second. Regardless, his positioning prior to that was the bigger concern because there is no evidence that Guerreiro could contain Raphinha.
• What an absolute debacle of a first half from the backline. Just terrible…
• In fairness, though, Kane’s uncharacteristic off-touch and offside would have both likely led to goals. It could have been tied at 3-3. As they say, though, coulda, woulda, shoulda.
• The second half did not get any better for Bayern Munich. A careless turnover from Michael Olise, led to a quick counter-attack, which ultimately led to Raphinha smoking both Upamecano and Min-jae for another goal. Bayern Munich has a serious problem on the backline. Serious.
• Olise looks like he needs a rest by the way.
• Overall, it was a thoroughly disappointing effort from Bayern Munich against an FC Barcelona side that simply looked like it was more motivated, better prepared, and tired of having sand kicked in its face by the big bullies from Germany. Flick deserves an immense amount of credit for what he is doing. For Kompany, though, he is going to have to ponder on whether or not his undying support of his backline is warranted…or if he needs to start looking at ways he can better set his team up against top-tier competition.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:

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Former Bayern Munich prospect Joshua Zirkzee has not exactly had the easiest time with his transition to Manchester United and the Premier League. With one goal in 11 games across all competitions, there are now rumors swirling that the Dutchman is considering a return to Italy:

Meanwhile, Man Utd striker Joshua Zirkzee has struck a deal to return to Serie A with Juventus in the January transfer window.

It would be surprising to see Zirkzee bolt from England so soon, but it is Manchester United.

Welcome back to episode 7 of the Bundesliga Rundown with Marcus Iredahl!

The Bundesliga is starting to take shape as we gear up for another round of European competitions. Matchday 7 saw Bayern Munich return to winning ways, Leverkusen once again benefited from a stroke of luck, and Dortmund narrowly edged out FC St. Pauli.

Additionally, this episode will cover:

• Why RB Leipzig may be Bayern Munich’s strongest title contender this season.
• Why Ole Werner might be one of the most underrated and tactically unique coaches in the Bundesliga.
• Why Jürgen Klopp’s Red Bull partnership feels like a major disappointment for football purists.

Toni Kroos recently took some time to talk about life after football.

“There has never been a moment during these 10 years at Real Madrid when I thought that I wanted to leave. It never happened. No one at the club ever doubted my quality,” Kroos told Marca. “I really love Real Madrid, in the most realistic sense of this word. My farewell at the Bernabéu… I will keep it inside my heart forever!”

Even with all of that love for his club, Kroos said the hardest part of walking away was telling his son.

“The most difficult thing was telling Ancelotti and my son, that I was retiring,” Kroos said. “It’s been really complicated.”

Inter Milan could take advantage of Bayern Munich’s exit from the race for Bayer Leverkusen center-back Jonathan Tah:

A move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah is being lined up by Internazionale, according to Team Talk. The Serie A club are reported to be keen on making a move for him quickly to beat competition for his signature from across Europe, with clubs in the Premier League watching his situation. Tah is set to become a free agent next June, and it is believed that he has already made the decision to go in search of a new challenge.

Few things are inevitable in football, but Bayern Munich vs FC Barcelona has certainly felt that way in recent years. The two FCBs have an incredibly lopsided record in the UEFA Champions League, with Bayern not just winning games, but winning them by some margin, year after year, ad nauseam.

The links between these two clubs are numerous — Barca employ former Bayern Munich men in both Robert Lewandowski and Hansi Flick. Flick especially was considered for the coaching position at Bayern before Vincent Kompany was hired. That makes this game more emotionally charged than usual.

In this episode, INNN and Michael discuss the following:

• Who should be on the starting lineup? Should Thomas Müller play? Does Serge Gnabry keep starting?
• Who are the most dangerous players on the Barca side? Lamine Yamal vs Jamal Musiala, and the curious case of Raphinha.
• How Barca’s attack stacks up against the Bayern Munich defense.
• Why Bayern has an advantage attacking the Barca defense.
• Discussing the two strikers — Harry Kane vs Robert Lewandowski. Who is better?
• What if Vincent Kompany loses? Where do we go next?

Napoli knows what it has in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and is looking to make him even more rich:

Arsenal FC might be one-and-done with Chelsea FC loanee Raheem Sterling:

Arsenal could decline the chance to sign winger Raheem Sterling permanently next summer when his loan from Chelsea comes to an end, with Mikel Arteta considering other targets.