Bayern Munich wasted little time in getting going in its first competitive match of the new year. The German league leaders extend their points cushion at the top of the table to 11 with an 8-1 smashing of VfL Wolfsburg, and the hero of the day was easily Michael Olise — man-of-the-match winner with a 70% share of the vote.
The French winger got the scoring going early after just five minutes, when his pressure at the back post caused Kilian Fischer’s deflection into his own net — fulfilling, ironically,
a BFW reader prophecy as to the provenance of the year’s first goal.
And then he was involved in just about everything after that. Olise was a whirlwind on the right wing, and his form was on song today. The 24-year-old dazzled with his feet as he always does, his start-step stutter too much for any defender to keep up with. Those chip-ball crosses to the far post, arching over the backline to find a teammate at point-blank range? He’s done this before but had an infinite supply of these marvels in his locker today. Somehow it only come off for the one assist, though that was Bayern’s crucial second goal, restoring the lead in the first half at a time when Wolfsburg looked ever so briefly to be ascendant.
Between the post denying him and a few other close calls, Olise finished with just the two goals atop that assist — a positively Arjen Robben-like cut inside and score in the 50th minute and a sharp finish from his right for good measure in the 76th — but the star man was involved in just about everything positive Bayern did on the night. Per Sofascore, he had three ‘big chances’ created and four ‘key passes’, and those numbers too do little justice to the performance he put in. Alongside Luis Díaz and Harry Kane, Bayern was completely unstoppable.
The Bavarians have a star-studded attack and is about to get even more reinforcements with Jamal Musiala returning to the lineup in the coming months. Olise has served up a reminder that he is as central as ever to everything Bayern does.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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