After his brace and assist in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, Luis Diaz has now already tallied 6 goals and 4 assists from all 10 of the German Rekordmeister’s matches across all competitions thus far. There were sections of Bayern fans that questioned the Colombian’s 70-million euro price tag when he was bought from Liverpool over the summer, but it’s quite difficult to argue against the blistering start he’s had to life with the reigning Bundesliga champions – and this is without
the presence of Jamal Musiala in attack, who will not be making his return from injury until sometime next month.
By stark contrast, Diaz’s former club have hit a bit of a stumbling block and have now lost three matches on the bounce having lost to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea. Hugo Ekitike’s second yellow for removing his shirt after scoring the winner against Southampton, of all clubs, in the Carabao Cup just about set the tone for the manner in which Liverpool would lose their next three matches; negative football, missed chances, and defensive lapses in concentration. Alexander Isak is still trying to adjust to Arne Slot’s attack and it’s almost as if the absence of Ekitike against Palace highlighted the fact that the Premier League Champion’s attack is re-calibrating in real time having lost both Diaz and tragically, Diogo Jota.
Speaking on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which happened simultaneous to Diaz’s brace and assist in Bayern’s win at Frankfurt, former striker turned pundit Daniel Sturridge touched on how much he feels Slot’s side are currently missing the Colombian international. “Luis Díaz is a massive miss for me. When you look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, I think arguably he was the one who would set the press in the front three. For me, Luis Díaz, how tenacious he is on the ball and how hungry he is to get it back for his team. He brought something to Liverpool that they are now missing. He would sacrifice himself defensively. That’s what they’ve got to figure out now, who in that attack is going to give themselves up a little bit,” he ranted (via @iMiaSanMia).
At Bayern, the high press works incredibly well when Kompany instructs his side to use it and they’re able to win possession in advantageous areas of the pitch and it’s not quite worked out as well at Liverpool between Isak, Ekitike, Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai. Diaz has been that missing piece, or at least one of them, for the reigning Premier League champions and he’s slotted right into a system at Bayern that promotes quick ball recovery times and wide attacking players also having defensive responsibilities.
Bayern Munich coasted into this international break with a 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and immediately (and rightfully) hit Oktoberfest before the squad breaks up for a week-and-a-half for another international break.
It feels like a good time to appreciate these good times and examine why it all has come together under Vincent Kompany so far this season. This is what we have on tap for this episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show:
- Winning — and some personnel moves — have cured all at Bayern Munich. The winning formula is more complicated than that, but let’s explore why things are going so well and how to keep them moving in that direction.
- Some Bayern players need a break. It is a new world for several player and a tough adjustment, but it could be the difference between winning the Champions League and flaming out early.
- What’s wrong with Florian Wirtz? The former Bayern Munich transfer target got benched at Liverpool, proving again that fit is sometime more important than finances in a footballer’s career.
- Manuel Neuer to get a new deal? Bayern Munich might just be kicking it around.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
