There is progress being made here
Bayern Munich is slowly maturing into a complete team under Vincent Kompany, and the progress can be seen game by game. The first preseason friendly (versus Rottach-Egern) was a messy affair, given that most players had only been training for a few days. The next game versus Düren was little better, with the hard-fought draw versus a 4th division side leaving a poor first impression of the new coach’s system.
Since then, however, things have been looking up. The addition of the German NT players and an extra week of training paid dividends when Bayern Munich beat Tottenham 2-1 in Seoul. A week later, another week of training yielded an even more dominant performance, as the team went to London and slapped Spurs in their own back yard. The following game against WSG Tirol was a languid affair lacking in intensity, which was quickly remedied in the DFB Pokal opener vs SSV Ulm.
Now, we have this win over Grasshopper Club Zürich, a game which saw almost the whole squad take part, and the entire outfield subbed at the hour mark. Despite this, Bayern Munich played as a cohesive unit throughout, maintained an intense pressing effort, demonstrated solid positioning on and off the ball, and scored twice in each half (two goals by each set of outfielders).
Comparing today’s win over Grasshoppers to the original draw vs Düren, you can see the way the team has evolved with each week of preseason. Kompany has a plan and he’s slowly refining the execution by his players. So far, we’ve seen an improvement in not just the team’s fitness, but the overall execution of the game plan.
Compared to the complete stagnation we saw under Thomas Tuchel, Vincent Kompany’s arrival has so far breathed new life into this Bayern Munich team.
Michael Olise is as sharp as a knife and twice as dangerous
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The Frenchman has been training with the team for less than a week and it shows — he’s clearly not on the same wavelength as his teammates. However, that hardly seems to matter, as Olise plays like a precision instrument designed to create goals and assists.
His goal today is hardly worth mentioning — it was a great finish off an opportunistic bounce. The rest of Olise’s game was much more impressive. He has an incredible first touch, turning bad passes into good ones by virtue of his control alone. He’s not just someone who can cross the ball and dribble — he’s adept at following runners and delivering through balls into the feet of attacking players. He can roam all over the pitch and is effective on both flanks, while also being a deadly threat via set piece deliveries.
All things considered, Olise simply seems like a more complete footballer than the existing trio of Bayern Munich wingers. Let’s see if those first impressions last as competitive football begins in earnest this week.
João Palhinha may be turning into “that guy”
Grasshoppers FC were completely shut down in the first 60 minutes, and it was thanks to João Palhinha. The Portuguese midfielder is showing glimpses of what he can do when shielding the defense, as his presence kept a makeshift backline of Eric Dier and Leon Goretzka safe for an entire hour. You’d be hard pressed to recall even a single chance the opponents created during the first 60’, because any halfway-decent pass was immediately smothered by the former Fulham man before the center-back even had to intervene.
Grasshoppers made far bigger inroads into the Bayern box once Palhinha was subbed. While they still didn’t score, Upamecano and Kim had much more work to do than Dier and Goretzka, simply because they didn’t have a true DM protecting them. If these performances hold, João Palhinha might become “that guy” for Bayern Munich, similar to Javi Martinez back in 2013.
Bonus observations
- Is Thomas Müller back to being a goalscorer? He hasn’t been this aggressive in the box since ... well, since the 2015/16 season under Pep Guardiola. If Kompany is really following in the footsteps of Pep, should we expect to see more goals and fewer assists from the Raumdeuter going forward?
- Harry Kane looks leaner and fitter than he did before, and his movements have eased up. Whatever ailment bothered him during the Euros, it looks to be mending nicely.
- Either the media was wrong or Leon Goretzka still has a chance. He probably doesn’t fancy playing center-back for a whole season, but by using him this way Kompany signals to the player that there’s still a way for him to make a comeback on the team. It might not help Bayern Munich sell him, but it could be good for locker room harmony.
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