Bayern Munich rocketed past RB Salzburg on the back of four second half goals courtesy of Felipe Chávez, Lennart Karl, and Tom Bischof. To be honest, the Austrians didn’t stand a chance. It was a routine
warmup game for FC Bayern that shows they are (probably) ready to tackle the second half of the season.
Jersey Swap: Alexander Schlager
Of all the Salzburg players on the pitch, Schlager (who only played the first half) was the least bad. You can tell that the Austrians are in the middle of a long winter break, because they weren’t ready for the intensity that Bayern Munich brought to the game. Schlager at least made a few interventions, including a major save on a Robben-esque shot by Michael Olise. That earns him the jersey swap — it was slim pickings.
Der Kaiser: Jonas Urbig
Strange to give the Kaiser award to a goalkeeper, but Urbig deserves it. He had one really good save in the first half, and the rest of his game was precise and tidy. He timed his sweeping runs outside the box the way Manuel Neuer would, and his distribution initiated most of the team’s possession sequences. Playing like a young Manuel Neuer, Urbig deserves a Kaiser award for a well earned clean sheet.
Honorable mentions go to Dayot Upamecano and Cassiano Kiala, who were pretty good at the back in the first half. It was the only half where Salzburg put any effort into threatening the Bayern goal.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmi-I mean Hiroki Itō
People will say he’s a defender, and he is! But against Salzburg, Hiroki Itō was trusted with a fascinating role by Vincent Kompany — that of an inverted fullback. This means that while Wisdom Mike went out wide, Itō tucked into the midfield, acting like a third midfielder alongside Goretzka and Santos Daiber.
While writing the midfield review for the midseason ratings, I noted that Kompany could shore up the problems in the middle by adding an inverted fullback to act as a third midfielder alongside the two existing ones. Itō filled that role wonderfully, positioning himself perfectly to receive the ball and then progress it himself, or send it up to Wisdom Mike up top. His work saw him go far up the pitch, even ending up in and around the box — which is where his goal came from.
Essentially, Itō went from playing as a pure defender to a pseudo midfielder in this new role that Kompany has given him. It opens up a lot of options for Bayern Munich on a tactical level, and it will be interesting to see where the coach takes this idea going forward.
Der Bomber: Felipe Chávez
Chávez only played a portion of the second half, but that was more than enough to make an impact. An assist to Karl for the second goal followed by a goal himself — this kid might be something special. We will watch his career with great interest.
Meister of the Match: The Madridista
Hey, did you know that Lennart Karl wants to go to Real Madrid? He said that Madrid is his dream club! It’s just like Mbappé, who also wanted to go to Madrid. We can’t blame him though, who wouldn’t want to go to Madrid? And 17-year-olds say stupid things, we can’t blame him for saying that he wants to go to Madrid.
Madrid. Madrid. Madrid. Madrid.
Do you get the point? We should be talking about how our star player just scored a brace and assisted once in a massive win — the first game of 2026. Instead, everyone in and around the club is doing damage control. During the recap of the fanclub visits shown at halftime, Karl wasn’t even included once. Yet, the commentator could not let a single breath go by without reminding us that even though he wants to go to Real Madrid, he’s at Bayern now and that’s what’s important.
This is not a narrative that will go away easily. Karl is obviously an amazing player, and the performance versus Salzburg isn’t even extraordinary by his standards. He has done that and more, and he will continue to do so — he has that aura about him. However, because of that one comment, there will always be the question: “Is he going to Madrid?”
No matter how much Bayern fans may want to forget, no matter how much the club may want everyone to forget, a statement like that cannot be taken back. Commentators will bring it up, pundits will bring it up, even other fans will bring it up. Thus, it colors an otherwise perfect performance from a tremendous 17-year-old, the best in the world right now.
The message from Bayern right now says: Lennart Karl is here, for now. That’s just tragic.
