Five Observations from Bayern Munich’s comfortable 4-0 win over Hannover 96

Kimmich is a right-back

At the first game back at his natural position, Joshua Kimmich had a near-perfect game. It started in the 2nd minute when he opened the scoring for Bayern Munich. Thomas Müller caught Hannover sleeping on a throw-in and got the ball at the byline undefended. He passed the ball back over his head and, after a deflection, found Kimmich at the top of the box. Kimmich took it one time and beat the keeper with a low shot to the back of the net.

Kimmich also assisted on the final goal of the game. After a shot from Müller was saved by Hannover’s goalie, Kimmich raced to keep the ball from going out for a corner. After he collected it he found Robert Lewandowski in the middle of the six-yard box, who was able to head it into the goal.

Bayern Munich’s coaching staff will have a tough decision to make if they want to put him back in midfield. His goal, the assist, and the 93% pass completion rate seems to prove that Kimmich needs to be left at right-back.

Hustle and opportunism will get you goals too

After scoring the second minute, Bayern was struggling to find that key ball for a second goal. Despite the constant pressure, they could not find the back of the net. Cue David Alaba. After a rebound deflected out from a corner, Alaba fired a laser of a shot on a half-volley. The goalie guessed right, but couldn’t do anything about it. This put Bayern up 2-0 at the half.

Shortly after halftime, Serge Gnabry got his goal. After getting the ball in the penalty box, out-wide, Gnabry dribbled past a defender, causing the goalie to come off his line. He tried one shot which was blocked by the goalie. Gnabry was able to reach around the goalie and poke the ball into the net. This scrappy goal from Grabry probably shut the door on any hopes of a Hannover comeback.

Bayern could have easily scored ten goals

FC Bayern’s shooting was clinical today. They had a total of 33 shots, 14 of which were on target. Hannover’s goalie, Michael Esser, was absolutely amazing. Esser was truly the only bright spot from Hannover’s performance. Without him, we may have seen a much uglier scoreline. While Bayern’s relentless attack kept coming and coming, Esser stood strong and protected his goal, as if the game was still tied 0-0. Although, the Bavarians did manage to get four goals past him, Esser still finished the game with ten saves.

These stats are entirely reversed when you look at the other side of the game. Manuel Neuer hardly had to flinch at Hannover’s attack today. They attempted a total of three shots, none of which were on target. Despite the clean sheet, this game did not help Neuer’s struggling save percentage.

Lewandowski is on fire

Robert Lewandowski scored his 22nd goal in all competitions for Bayern this season. The Polish international is currently second for most goals scored in this year’s Bundesliga campaign, with ten (as we were writing this article, Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer scored against Bremen). He has scored eight goals in the Champions League, so far, which is the more than anyone else in the group stage.

Lewy also scored a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Super Cup to begin the year, and has one goal to his name from one DFB Pokal match. His current run of form has helped Bayern stay within striking distance of league-leaders Dortmund while helping the club top their Champions League group.

Ya know, he could’ve given Wagner a pass...

Thiago was a silent assassin

There was definitely nothing flashy about Thiago’s performance today. The Spaniard had no goals nor did he have an assist. He did however manage a passing accuracy of 97% as well as 166 touches of the ball, which is 53 more than second-best Joshua Kimmich. Thiago’s play was masterful, holding onto the ball for 13.4% of the game. Bayern Munich fans will be delighted to have their maestro back on the pitch, as he continues to prove why Pep Guardiola wanted him all those years ago.