bavarian foot works 
28-04-2024 05:57
28-04-2024 05:57
Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt; FC Barcelona could make move for Leroy Sané; Xabi Alonso to Manchester City?; PSG’s Kylian Mbappé to take pay cut for Real Madrid?; Bayern still chasing Chelsea man?; and MORE!
Bayern Munich was able to claw out a 2-1 victory over a game Eintracht Frankfurt side in a match that was not an easy task for the Bavarians.
Physical, fast, and dangerous, Eintracht Frankfurt presented a big challenge to Bayern Munich ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.
The Bavarians got the win to keep things going, but a lot of interesting things took place, so let’s dive in with some quick hitters on the match:
As always, let’s start with a look at Thomas Tuchel’s surprising starting XI:
This was...interesting to say the least. Jamal Musiala did not dress — despite Tuchel’s statements that he would on Friday — because of a tendon issue. After that, though, there were some very interesting decisions. Tuchel opted to start Noussair Mazraoui at left-back over Alphonso Davies. Raphaël Guerreiro took over at left-wing for Mathys Tel. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting returned to the XI, as did Thomas Müller. Kim Min-jae went back to the bench, as well.
Maybe most shocking were the exclusions of Davies and Aleksandar Pavlović. It is hard to figure out what is going on with both players at this stage. For Davies, there has been a drop off in form (and maybe confidence), but he is steamrolling toward a match-up with his rumored future club (Real Madrid) next week in the Champions League. Has Tuchel found that combination of Mazraoui and Guerreiro to be the way he wants to move forward to face Los Blancos?
As for Pavlović, it is harder to tell if he is still working his way back from the effects of an injury and an illness, if he is being rested for the UCL,...or if he has simply fallen into Tuchel’s doghouse (not inconceivable).
Müller had a golden opportunity to get his 150th Bundesliga goal in the 6th minute, but skied it over the crossbar.
Bayern Munich received a scare just seconds later when Matthijs de Ligt went down with some sort of leg injury. De Ligt did re-enter the match, but was pulled at halftime.
In the 9th minute, Laimer made a tremendous, hard-charging run through three Eintracht Frankfurt defenders and outraced another to set up Harry Kane for a tap-in. What an awesome display of fight, desire, and will from Laimer. That was easily the Austrian’s best play as a member of Bayern Munich.
Hugo Ekitike showed the world why he has been such a coveted prospect with a great strike in the 23rd minute to beat Manuel Neuer from distance. At one point, Ekitike was on Bayern Munich’s radar, but now he will become a permanent member of Die Adler.
In the 27th minute, Laimer went down with an injury and Pavlović entered the match. In under a half, Bayern Munich had two, scary moments related to injury.
Just before the half ended, Guerreiro should have made it 2-1, but he scuffed a great opportunity when he hit it directly at Kevin Trapp. The ball then deflected off of the post. That was not a great moment for Bayern Munich.
You could argue that if each team made the necessary plays, it would have been Bayern Munich up 3-2 at halftime.
Kim Min-jae came on for De Ligt after halftime.
Müller (rightfully) earned a PK in the 60th minute and Kane made good on it. It was a little surprising that Müller did not take it with a milestone available.
Kane later went knee-to-knee with Omar Marmoush and was down for a bit. Again, Bayern Munich fans held their breath.
As Bayern Munich substituted, Goretzka shifted to right-back (something many Bayern Munich fans have seen before).
Davies isn’t “right.” Something seems off with him and he just seems…distracted.
Lovro Zvonarek made his second consecutive appearance, which was nice to see.
After the match, there were mixed reports on the state of Laimer and De Ligt. Bayern Munich can ill-afford to lose either player for the coming games.
Overall, Bayern Munich did its job. It was not an overly convincing win, but the Bavarians were the better team and played a more complete game. Now on the Champions League for what will be an absolute slobberknocker against Real Madrid. Is Bayern Munich ready?
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:
Barca planning to make inquiry on Sané (Football Espana)
FC Barcelona might be sensing that Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané is open to exploring his options in the transfer market this summer:
Barcelona will need to make sales this summer before they make signings, and especially big ones, but they are still scouring the market for options that could improve their squad. One of those is Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané.
El Chiringuito report that last week Barcelona made a call to Bayern to enquire about Sané’s availability this summer, although there was no information on the Bavarian response to that idea. Sané does have just a year left on his deal though, and is reportedly open to leaving Bayern this summer.
Bayern’s stance with all of their stars, as has been seen with Robert Lewandowski or Alphonso Davies, is that if they do not sign new deals, then they will consider offers for them. Exactly how much Barcelona can offer is another matter, and it may be that the agent is using that interest in order to extract a better deal from Bayern.
There is potential for plenty of talks between the clubs though, with Bayern seemingly interested in two Barcelona stars that the Catalans are open to selling this summer. With the Blaugrana prioritising a left winger after a pivot this summer, logically Sané could become involved as part of those negotiations and would fulfil a need.
Musiala always gives teammates respect (Sport Bild via @iMiaSanMia)
During the last international break, Toni Kroos made note of how talented Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz are. Obviously the word got back to the youngsters and Musiala said he thinks there is a mutual respect between him and other players.
“In general I feel that the players have a lot of respect for me. But I give them the same respect. This is what we need for the right chemistry on the pitch: everyone has to recognize their teammates,” said Musiala. “I feel like I’m playing my best football right now. Also with a view to the entire season. I realize that I have taken a step forward. I’m scoring the goals and getting the assists you need to get attention. I’ve been playing consistently all season, the goal involvements have sometimes been lacking, but it’s working very well in 2024. This is a big step, I want to carry on, continue to work hard and go into every game with energy and lots of action.”
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 42 (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich fans...the future is now!
Or soon...or maybe a little later...but either way, the club does appear to be well on its way to hiring its next coach — Ralf Rangnick, a name that was not necessarily at the forefront of anyone’s mind just a few weeks ago.
With all of that going on, let’s get to it and discuss what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
Rangnick to Bayern Munich...how are we feeling about that (if it goes down)?
It is still a little odd that Hansi Flick never made it into serious consideration.
Is there any truth to the rumors that Rangnick is a short-term solution until Jürgen Klopp (or maybe even Xabi Alonso) becomes available.
Should fans believe the Frenkie de Jong rumors this time around?
After the Eintracht Frankfurt game, it is time to switch quickly into “Real Madrid Mode.”
Bayern still in on Chalobah? (Chelsea News)
Earlier this season, Bayern Munich was closely linked to Chelsea FC defender Trevoh Chalobah and the Bavarians might actually still be interested in the 24-year-old:
Fabrizio Romano’s Caught Offside column has become essential reading for Chelsea fans in the last couple of years, simply because of the crazy amount of business we’ve been doing.
That should all slow down soon – but there’s still a lot of selling to be done, and top of the list are our academy developed players. It’s been almost two years of constant rumours about Trevoh Chalobah being sold for example, and there seems to be no change on that front.
An update from Romano on that situation revealed that Chelsea are still primed to sell him as soon as they can, despite his recent form. After returning from a long spell out, Chalobah has proved himself as the most effective defender we’ve got.
But those in charge have made their bed, now they must lie in it. Romano references interest from a wide variety of clubs, showing how highly rated the 24 year old is:
“Another defender who could be one to watch on the market this summer is Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, and I thought I’d clarify his situation as some fans have been asking me if his situation could change now that he’s been playing more often recently, and performing well in Mauricio Pochettino’s line up.
“My understanding is that the expectation is still for Chalobah to leave, so that Chelsea can make profit and for Chalobah to be a regular starter.
“I’ve spoken about interest from Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest in the past, but there’s nothing happening now. Let’s see who’s going to move on that, at the moment there is nothing concrete yet in terms of talks.”
Alonso to...City??? (Diario AS via 90Min.com)
Could Xabi Alonso be the post-Pep Guardiola plan for Manchester City? That might explain his patience with his career:
Manchester City will consider appointing Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, with Pep Guardiola’s contract due to expire next year.
Mbappé could take pay cut to join Madrid (AS via 90Min.com)
Kylian Mbappé might be willing to see his wages reduced to make the move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid:
Kylian Mbappé will accept a pay cut to join Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain. He has agreed an annual wage of €15m but, by retaining 80% of his image rights, he could double that income every year.
Physical, fast, and dangerous, Eintracht Frankfurt presented a big challenge to Bayern Munich ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.
The Bavarians got the win to keep things going, but a lot of interesting things took place, so let’s dive in with some quick hitters on the match:
As always, let’s start with a look at Thomas Tuchel’s surprising starting XI:
This was...interesting to say the least. Jamal Musiala did not dress — despite Tuchel’s statements that he would on Friday — because of a tendon issue. After that, though, there were some very interesting decisions. Tuchel opted to start Noussair Mazraoui at left-back over Alphonso Davies. Raphaël Guerreiro took over at left-wing for Mathys Tel. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting returned to the XI, as did Thomas Müller. Kim Min-jae went back to the bench, as well.
Maybe most shocking were the exclusions of Davies and Aleksandar Pavlović. It is hard to figure out what is going on with both players at this stage. For Davies, there has been a drop off in form (and maybe confidence), but he is steamrolling toward a match-up with his rumored future club (Real Madrid) next week in the Champions League. Has Tuchel found that combination of Mazraoui and Guerreiro to be the way he wants to move forward to face Los Blancos?
As for Pavlović, it is harder to tell if he is still working his way back from the effects of an injury and an illness, if he is being rested for the UCL,...or if he has simply fallen into Tuchel’s doghouse (not inconceivable).
Müller had a golden opportunity to get his 150th Bundesliga goal in the 6th minute, but skied it over the crossbar.
Bayern Munich received a scare just seconds later when Matthijs de Ligt went down with some sort of leg injury. De Ligt did re-enter the match, but was pulled at halftime.
In the 9th minute, Laimer made a tremendous, hard-charging run through three Eintracht Frankfurt defenders and outraced another to set up Harry Kane for a tap-in. What an awesome display of fight, desire, and will from Laimer. That was easily the Austrian’s best play as a member of Bayern Munich.
Hugo Ekitike showed the world why he has been such a coveted prospect with a great strike in the 23rd minute to beat Manuel Neuer from distance. At one point, Ekitike was on Bayern Munich’s radar, but now he will become a permanent member of Die Adler.
In the 27th minute, Laimer went down with an injury and Pavlović entered the match. In under a half, Bayern Munich had two, scary moments related to injury.
Just before the half ended, Guerreiro should have made it 2-1, but he scuffed a great opportunity when he hit it directly at Kevin Trapp. The ball then deflected off of the post. That was not a great moment for Bayern Munich.
You could argue that if each team made the necessary plays, it would have been Bayern Munich up 3-2 at halftime.
Kim Min-jae came on for De Ligt after halftime.
Müller (rightfully) earned a PK in the 60th minute and Kane made good on it. It was a little surprising that Müller did not take it with a milestone available.
Kane later went knee-to-knee with Omar Marmoush and was down for a bit. Again, Bayern Munich fans held their breath.
As Bayern Munich substituted, Goretzka shifted to right-back (something many Bayern Munich fans have seen before).
Davies isn’t “right.” Something seems off with him and he just seems…distracted.
Lovro Zvonarek made his second consecutive appearance, which was nice to see.
After the match, there were mixed reports on the state of Laimer and De Ligt. Bayern Munich can ill-afford to lose either player for the coming games.
Overall, Bayern Munich did its job. It was not an overly convincing win, but the Bavarians were the better team and played a more complete game. Now on the Champions League for what will be an absolute slobberknocker against Real Madrid. Is Bayern Munich ready?
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:
Barca planning to make inquiry on Sané (Football Espana)
FC Barcelona might be sensing that Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané is open to exploring his options in the transfer market this summer:
Barcelona will need to make sales this summer before they make signings, and especially big ones, but they are still scouring the market for options that could improve their squad. One of those is Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané.
El Chiringuito report that last week Barcelona made a call to Bayern to enquire about Sané’s availability this summer, although there was no information on the Bavarian response to that idea. Sané does have just a year left on his deal though, and is reportedly open to leaving Bayern this summer.
Bayern’s stance with all of their stars, as has been seen with Robert Lewandowski or Alphonso Davies, is that if they do not sign new deals, then they will consider offers for them. Exactly how much Barcelona can offer is another matter, and it may be that the agent is using that interest in order to extract a better deal from Bayern.
There is potential for plenty of talks between the clubs though, with Bayern seemingly interested in two Barcelona stars that the Catalans are open to selling this summer. With the Blaugrana prioritising a left winger after a pivot this summer, logically Sané could become involved as part of those negotiations and would fulfil a need.
Musiala always gives teammates respect (Sport Bild via @iMiaSanMia)
During the last international break, Toni Kroos made note of how talented Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz are. Obviously the word got back to the youngsters and Musiala said he thinks there is a mutual respect between him and other players.
“In general I feel that the players have a lot of respect for me. But I give them the same respect. This is what we need for the right chemistry on the pitch: everyone has to recognize their teammates,” said Musiala. “I feel like I’m playing my best football right now. Also with a view to the entire season. I realize that I have taken a step forward. I’m scoring the goals and getting the assists you need to get attention. I’ve been playing consistently all season, the goal involvements have sometimes been lacking, but it’s working very well in 2024. This is a big step, I want to carry on, continue to work hard and go into every game with energy and lots of action.”
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 42 (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich fans...the future is now!
Or soon...or maybe a little later...but either way, the club does appear to be well on its way to hiring its next coach — Ralf Rangnick, a name that was not necessarily at the forefront of anyone’s mind just a few weeks ago.
With all of that going on, let’s get to it and discuss what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
Rangnick to Bayern Munich...how are we feeling about that (if it goes down)?
It is still a little odd that Hansi Flick never made it into serious consideration.
Is there any truth to the rumors that Rangnick is a short-term solution until Jürgen Klopp (or maybe even Xabi Alonso) becomes available.
Should fans believe the Frenkie de Jong rumors this time around?
After the Eintracht Frankfurt game, it is time to switch quickly into “Real Madrid Mode.”
Bayern still in on Chalobah? (Chelsea News)
Earlier this season, Bayern Munich was closely linked to Chelsea FC defender Trevoh Chalobah and the Bavarians might actually still be interested in the 24-year-old:
Fabrizio Romano’s Caught Offside column has become essential reading for Chelsea fans in the last couple of years, simply because of the crazy amount of business we’ve been doing.
That should all slow down soon – but there’s still a lot of selling to be done, and top of the list are our academy developed players. It’s been almost two years of constant rumours about Trevoh Chalobah being sold for example, and there seems to be no change on that front.
An update from Romano on that situation revealed that Chelsea are still primed to sell him as soon as they can, despite his recent form. After returning from a long spell out, Chalobah has proved himself as the most effective defender we’ve got.
But those in charge have made their bed, now they must lie in it. Romano references interest from a wide variety of clubs, showing how highly rated the 24 year old is:
“Another defender who could be one to watch on the market this summer is Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, and I thought I’d clarify his situation as some fans have been asking me if his situation could change now that he’s been playing more often recently, and performing well in Mauricio Pochettino’s line up.
“My understanding is that the expectation is still for Chalobah to leave, so that Chelsea can make profit and for Chalobah to be a regular starter.
“I’ve spoken about interest from Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest in the past, but there’s nothing happening now. Let’s see who’s going to move on that, at the moment there is nothing concrete yet in terms of talks.”
Alonso to...City??? (Diario AS via 90Min.com)
Could Xabi Alonso be the post-Pep Guardiola plan for Manchester City? That might explain his patience with his career:
Manchester City will consider appointing Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, with Pep Guardiola’s contract due to expire next year.
Mbappé could take pay cut to join Madrid (AS via 90Min.com)
Kylian Mbappé might be willing to see his wages reduced to make the move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid:
Kylian Mbappé will accept a pay cut to join Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain. He has agreed an annual wage of €15m but, by retaining 80% of his image rights, he could double that income every year.