Four observations from Bayern Munich’s deserved 3-0 win over FC Augsburg

No one’s ever gonna give you a trophy,
For all the pain and the things you’ve been through.

Bayern Munich met FC Augsburg in the first of this season’s Bavarian derbies, and while Bayern had essentially climbed all over Augsburg’s paralysed body, they just couldn’t seem to land the killing blows until Harry Kane found the breakthrough from a handball penalty. Kane doubled his tally after being fouled in the box and later made it a triple with a moment of sheer brilliance from him and Leon Goretzka. The 3-0 scoreline makes sense in terms of quantifying Bayern’s dominance, but the goals themselves — minus the last one — feel somewhat unearned.

Got a feeling our romance doesn’t stand a chance: The midfield control monster

Stand a chance to last.

Dear Joshua, you are so precious to this team. You must sign the new contract and continue to lead this squad for the next half-decade.

Joshua Walter Kimmich is a force of nature, but unlike most forces of nature that leave destruction and chaos in their wake, Kimmich is the opposite. Any football pitch the German steps into becomes a vessel of structure and principle. Kimmich’s ability to control entire games from his space is unfathomable, and he showed it today against Augsburg with his carries into space, long passes, tempo setting and even his shots from distance when Augsburg afforded him space to carry the ball. Kimmich was relentless, a one-man tempo machine, the hi-hat of Vincent Kompany’s drum kit. No matter what’s happening everywhere else, the team has a hi-hat doing 16th notes so they all know where they are in the groove. Kimmich’s complete control over the centre reduced the build-up burdens of Michael Olise and Leon Goretzka too, who were subsequently able to explore spaces deeper inside Augsburg’s block, stretching their defensive structure further.

Picture us better, I finally found a winter for your sweater: The heart and soul of Bayern Munich

Photo by F. Noever/FC Bayern via Getty Images

If I could have seen you just once more, tell you how much you’re adored.

Dear Leon, they don’t deserve you. You have my blessing to go somewhere you will be appreciated.

Leon Christoph Goretzka is a unique anomaly. The German midfielder is unorthodox, not seeming to excel at any one particular thing, or anything at all, really. It seems no coach can really figure him out, with the player being played in a multitude of roles and positions with no one role really sticking over the years. However, inexplicably, whenever Bayern Munich are in good form, they are somehow involved. Oh wait. That’s not unique. That’s Thomas Müller. Goretzka seems to have finally found his role under Kompany, operating as a second No. 10 in possession and dropping to protect the center off the ball. This is the best use of Goretzka’s ability to tear defensive lines apart once he receives at the edge of the box between the lines, as well as his ability to pick out passes into the box from deep as he often played long balls into the box when Bayern had just recovered the ball as a way to catch Augsburg in transition — one of these pinpoint balls resulting in Harry Kane’s hat-trick sealer.

And no good thing could be taken away: No end product but all the promise in the world

Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

If I still believe that hearts don’t lie, you’re gonna be just fine.

Dear Jamal, it’s okay. We all have days where nothing seems to get over the line, but you did far more to convince of us your quality than a hundred simple goals could have.

Jamal Musiala and Harry Edward Kane are enamouring as an offensive duo. They both had strong games today, albeit in opposing circumstances. Kane had a mostly ineffective game overall, but converted two penalties — one which he earned himself — and got on the end of a fantastic ball and kept his composure for a relatively quietly earned hat-trick. Musiala on the other hand was visibly plugging away for all 85 of his minutes, constantly testing the keeper and taking defenders on like his life depended on it. Simply put, Musiala is desperate to leave his mark on every game he plays, and it’s a delight to watch. We cannot mess this up, please leave him with a blank checkbook until 2030.

Love is calling, it’s time to give to you: A defensive masterclass

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Something you can hold onto, I dare you to try.

Dear Kim and Dayot, you’ve been imperious all season, and are only continuing to get better. The fans may not have faith in you, but the coaches and the team do.

Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano put on yet another masterclass in defense this match, now making it six clean sheets on the bounce, and an entire calendar month since the team last conceded a goal. Kim and Upamecano exhibit a defensive principle that one must subscribe to: that the best defenders are so good positionally that they never have to make a multitude of challenges. Kim and Upamecano don’t partake in many ground duels, but the ones they do, they dominate, and teams are forced into going long against Bayern which gives both of them a rich quantity of aerial duels to win and regain possession from. Kim and Upamecano have been invaluable in build-up too, creating a trio of dangerous progressors with Kimmich. If Kompany can keep this trajectory for these two, we are looking at the best centre-back pairing in world football, up there with Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s (and 2/3rds of Inter Milan’s if you want to cheat, they are a trio).

With all these pieces beginning to fall into place, this Bayern team looks like it could have a cinematic few years. We all should be extremely excited with the direction the team is headed in.

True love is making a comeback,
For only half of us, the rest just feel bad.

What did you make of this match? Let us know your thoughts in the discussion below.