Bayern Munich carried their Champions League momentum into the weekend and handedly dispatched of Union Berlin 4-0 at the Allianz Arena thanks to a brace from Serge Gnabry and goals from both Harry Kane and Michael Olise. Union had taken points off of Bayern earlier in the season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in the Bundesliga with the hinrunde 2-2 draw and they were also a tricky opponent for Bayern in the DFB-Pokal round of 16, so this match did have all the hallmarks of being a potential
banana skin for the German Rekordmeister.
There was added pressure with last weekend’s dramatic, controversial draw at Bayer Leverkusen that had reduced Bayern’s lead in the table over Borussia Dortmund, and that gap is still at nine points after this weekend’s results. Not to mention, Vincent Kompany had to do without both Luis Díaz and Nicolas Jackson due to the red cards they both received at Leverkusen last weekend. Additionally, Aleksandar Pavlović was a late omission from the win over Union Berlin due to hip problems.
Nonetheless, it was virtually one way traffic for the Bundesliga champions and they out-performed Union Berlin in every single stat line on the afternoon. Bayern could have very well scored more than just four, as Olise struck the post in the second half and Frederik Rønnow made a handful of vital saves in either half.
After the match, Kane, who now has 31 Bundesliga goals to his name this season, says the win was one of Bayern’s best performances of the season in the league. “Probably one of our better performances this season. You know we played two games away against them this year and they’ve been really tough, so expected a tough game, but I think from start to finish the way we moved the ball, the way we got on second balls, kept the rhythm of the game high and intense. And then, you know, our quality shone through the back end of the first half and then carried into the second half. So overall, just a really good win,” he explained to ESPN Bundesliga reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt (via @iMiaSanMia).
Kane also had a handful of chances in the match but scored from what was probably the most difficult chance, with a number of Union Berlin bodies crowding him on the edge of the box. When he was asked about his day in front of goal, he replied, “yeah, frustrating. Scored probably the hardest chance out of the lot. Obviously, missed one in the first half and then one at the end. When you’re a striker, and you miss these types of chances, even when you win 4-0, it just leaves a little bad taste in your mouth, but that it what it is. I’ve said before, strikers just sometimes have days that work well and days that don’t. At least I was able to get one today.”
Overall, it was a major positive for Bayern to get back into the win column in the Bundesliga before the international break to keep the gap over Dortmund at nine points. During the international matches, Kompany will be hoping the squad does not sustain any fresh injury concerns ahead of a massive April.
