Leon Goretzka admits struggles at left-back and has a swollen ankle

Leon Goretzka found himself in some unfamiliar waters yesterday during Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with FC Augsburg. A central midfielder by trade, Goretzka was filling in for David Alaba at left back and was completely out of his comfort zone as reported by Onefootball and Kicker.

Admitting that he was tentative and couldn’t play freely or without hesitation, Goretzka lamented his performance.

I was certainly not satisfied. I think it was clear from the outset that I would not be like David Alaba and put one cross after the other in the box with my left foot, and I wanted to do a good job defensively. You do not have any automatic mechanisms to fall back on, so you think more about it. It certainly wasn’t a good game of mine.

Despite his own assertion that he struggled at left back, Goretzka wasn’t removed from the game because of his performance or because of the yellow card he received, but because he twisted his ankle and it had become swollen.

In the episode I got a yellow card — which was justified — I twisted my ankle. That’s why I couldn’t carry on.

If there was anything Bayern needed, it was another injury. This one does not appear to be anything serious, but Goretzka’s status for Friday’s game against Hertha Berlin is questionable.