After a tight first half, Bayern Munich exploded with three goals in 12 minutes to demoralize St. Pauli in a 5-0 victory. Bayern broke a 54-year old record (more on that later), introduced a new teenager phenom, watched Michael Olise start a few fights, and played an entire match on a confetti pitch. Five different players scored, five different players provided assists, and Bayern is flying high ahead of the second leg against Real Madrid.
Vincent Kompany’s trust in Tom Bischof grows every week
Most Bayern fans forget that Bischof is only 20-years-old
and Kompany has explicitly stated that he wants to bring his youngsters along at a steady pace. Bischof was a wrecking ball in Hoffenheim’s midfield last season but ha been tasked with a variety of different roles this season. He was never intended to be a left-back option, but the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Hiroki Itō provided him an opportunity.
After scoring his only two goals of the season in the frenzied comeback against SC Freiburg last week, Bischof earned himself another 90 minutes tonight. He spent the first half perfectly diving into challenges. Once Davies entered the match, Bischof shifted into the midfield and displayed constant availability and solid decision-making skills. As a bonus, he’s a reliable free kick taker when Joshua Kimmich gets sick of hitting everything short.
With the Bundesliga title basically in hand, Bischof should play the final 450 minutes of the season to boost his development and chances at making Germany’s World Cup roster.
Michael Olise’s dominant form continues
For the sixth consecutive match, Olise contributed a goal or assist. That is impressive enough on its own but what has stood out about Olise’s play is the level of frustration he is eliciting from opposing left-backs. They have resorted to pulling, pushing, dragging, and trying everything under the sun to slow down Olise. The fiery attacker has responded in kind, often leaving the defenders in his wake as he dazzles with his quick dribbling and movement.
Despite being a Frenchman, Olise receives very little Ballon d’Or buzz. Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribéry will testify that if you play for Bayern then being the best player in the world is not enough.
Records were made to be broken
For the previous six seasons, Bayern has scored 90+ goals but ultimately failed to match the Bundesliga record of 101 goals from the 1971/72 campaign. At the moment, it feels weird to break the record in a throwaway road game against a relegation zone team. Led by mostly bench players, Bayern achieved the feat with five games to spare.
If things go according to plan, this will be an extra feather in the cap of Bayern’s first treble since 2020. The 2012/13 treble-winning squad held a +80 goal differential, compared to this season’s +78 goal differential. For the sixth time, Bayern will sit atop the table for every matchday. If Bayern wins out, the club will match its own records of 91 points and 29 wins.
Bayern saw 18 different players contribute Bundesliga goals this season, from Harry Kane’s league-leading 31 goals down to single goals from Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, and Hiroki Itō. Alphonso Davies is the only field player to start a game this season and not score a goal. Nicolas Jackson was the only field player to have zero assists but he rectified that issue tonight. We will have to give the goalkeepers a pass…for now.
Bonus Observations
- The center-back duo of Kim Min-jae and Hiroki Itō produced a clean sheet, albeit against the Bundesliga’s worst offense. Per usual, Itō subbed off a little early with an undisclosed ailment.
- Jamal Musiala remains an enigma. He has insane talent but is a relatively position-less player. Over the final month of the season, Kompany should give him some minutes as a roaming number nine and see what happens, especially if he keeps scoring headers. At the very least, Bayern fans wouldn’t have to waste any more frustrated moments on Nicolas Jackson.
- Raphaël Guerreiro had a fantastic match. He was constantly moving into the right areas and feeding his teammates with precision passes. He absolutely deserved to score tonight.
- 19-year-old Bara Sapoko Ndiaye made his senior debut. The Senegalese youngster joined Bayern on a loan deal a couple months ago.
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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