FC Heidenheim, currently placed 17th on the Bundesliga table, was always going to find playing Bayern Munich a daunting task. Bayern is the only team that remains unbeaten in the Bundesliga 14 matches (now 15) into the season. However, Bayern entered this game with a plethora of injuries and illnesses, with goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer out with a torn muscle fiber, Joshua Kimmich out with ankle problems, Konrad Laimer serving a yellow card suspension, Nicolas Jackson on national team duty,
and both Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlović out with an illness.
Fortunately, none of that seemed to matter, with Bayern swatting aside Heidenheim with ease and with what was a second-gear effort at best. Here are the key takeaways from the game:
No midfield? No problem
Bayern’s midfield injury crisis meant coach Vincent Kompany had to resort to a makeshift midfield pairing of Raphaël Guerreiro and Leon Goretzka, which admittedly isn’t really much of a midfield, but that didn’t seem to faze Bayern Munich at all. In fact, Kompany set up his team to bypass the center of the park altogether and progress the ball through the flanks, with Lennart Karl drifting more centrally to progress the ball down the middle. With Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah taking turns occupying the base of the “midfield,” the structure took on more of a Guardiola ‘U shape’ to offset the lack of a midfield pivot.
And it worked pretty darn well.
The Olisensation continues
A goal and two hockey assists. Michael Olise was involved in three of the four goals tonight and gave the Heidenheim defense hell all evening. With a splendid corner to tee up his teammates for the first goal, followed by a tidy finish from close range to double Bayern’s lead, Olise was the difference maker in the first half. And that did not change in the second half, with Olise continuing a beautiful move with a defense-splitting pass to release Stanisic, who would then turn provider for Luis Diaz’s finish.
With the type of form the winger is in, it is certain that he will have a massive role to play in any success Bayern enjoys in the Rückrunde.
Alphonso Davies is a bonafide starter
No surprises here, but the sheer gulf in quality between any other left-back option Bayern has on the pitch versus Davies occupying that left flank makes any version of Davies more valuable than any iteration involving Ito, Bischof, or Stanisic at LB. As soon as Davies replaced Ito, there was a shift in the dynamic and the way the left flank looked. It almost certainly is the main reason why Bayern was able to find two goals in quick succession as soon as Davies entered the game.
Davies and Díaz are both pressing monsters, track back to defend at all times, and have pace to burn, which gives opposition defenders all sorts of problems to worry about.
Jonas Urbig with a statement
A player who really stood out tonight was Bayern’s goalkeeper, Urbig, who, deputizing for Neuer, gave Bayern reason for optimism with a splendid performance. Some top-tier saves, including stopping a strong close-range effort from Arijon Ibrahimović gave plenty of food for thought… is Urbig Bayern’s best shot stopper now? Neuer is undoubtedly the best ball-playing goalkeeper, but his shot-stopping ability has been questionable many a time this season.
Is it time to start phasing in Urbig already? Neuer is showing clear signs of decline, particularly in his goalkeeping during set pieces and crosses. Urbig, on the other hand, seems to be growing in confidence with every performance and has kept 3 clean sheets in 3 Bundesliga appearances this season, which is phenomenal.
The academy continues to deliver
Two more Bundesliga debutants for Bayern Munich. David Daiber (18) and Cassiano Kiala (16) made substitute appearances for the Bavarians, which marked their first Bundesliga game for the club, while Wisdom Mike got more game time too, as a substitute.
Daiber stood out tonight, with some wonderful close ball control and a noteworthy contribution that saw him win back the ball and kickstart a move that led to Bayern’s third. His decision-making and vision seemed surprisingly advanced for a first league appearance, and this short cameo certainly made a case for further opportunities down the line. Bayern Munich’s approach to focus on developing and nurturing campus talents is paying dividends, and it doesn’t feel inconceivable that there may soon be a Bayern starting XI featuring at least 5-6 academy players.
