Arminia Bielefeld 1-4 Bayern Munich: Initial reactions and observations

Initial reactions and observations

• Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski were unplayable. Bielefeld had no idea what do with them.
• Lucas Hernandez was probably the pick of the defenders, being consistently solid at the back and great going forward.
• Niklas Sule showed off his superior distribution today. The big German’s technical skill is always underrated, but his pass to Lewy that led to the first goal was world class.
• Manuel Neuer will be upset to come out of the game without a clean sheet. He has to wait longer to get his 200th.
• Bielefeld sat back and let Bayern play freely. Atletico are unlikely to be so accommodating. Hansi Flick will need to fine-tune a few aspects of play before the boys host Diego Simeone’s team on Wednesday.

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Full time: Bayern win 4-1.

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90’ — Alphonso Davies comes on for Lucas Hernandez.

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86’ — Double substitution for Bayern: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Jamal Musiala come on for Robert Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman.

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83’ — Substitution for Bielefeld: Brian Behrendt replaces Nathan De Medina, who was on a yellow card.

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79’ — Bayern responds with a break. Coman wins a corner. Javi Martinez connects with the ball, but his header goes outside the left post.

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77’ — A comical scene as Bielefeld prepares to take their free: Douglas Costa is laughing as he tries to figure out which way he’s supposed to lie down behind the wall as Joshua Kimmich often does. He eventually realizes its better to be facing the goal rather than the ball from that range. The ball bounces off the wall.

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76’ — RED CARD! Corentin Tolisso is sent off for bringing down Fabian Klos just outside the penalty area. It’s a shame for the Frenchman, who had a great game up to that point.

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73’ — Yellow card for De Medina, who literally swiped his palm down Coman’s face.

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70’ — Doan takes another great shot, but this time fires it over the bar. Also, double substitution for Bielefeld: Reinhold Yabo and Sven Schipplock replace Christian Gebauer and Fabian Kunze.

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65’ — Double substitution: Javi Martinez and Douglas Costa come on for Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry.

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62’ — Tolisso finds Coman in the box, but his compatriot shoots the ball wide.

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59’ — GOAL for Bielefeld! Bielefeld fires a loose ball up front to striker and captain Klos, who finds his path blocked by Süle and Pavard. He takes his time and passes out wide to Doan, who rather casually trots forward to help. Doan takes on Pavard one on one, beats him, and shots the ball past Neuer into the far corner. That’s how it’s done.

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50’ — GOAL for Bayern! Lewandowski, dropping back to the right midfield, fires a long forward past to Müller, who puts the pinpoint pass right into the goal. 4-0 now.

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49’ — Bielefeld is careless with the ball and Lewandowski pounces on it, but his shot goes of the bar! So close to a hat-trick.

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48’ — Wow, Bielefeld creates a great chance with a throughball slicing right through the lines to find Bauer in a one-on-one with Neuer. Neuer comes up big with the save.

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45’ — The second half is underway!

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Halftime observations

• Bielefeld has delivered a spirited performance, but they still look very much like a team that was just promoted from the 2.Bundesliga.
• French connection: both Lucas Hernandez and Coco Tolisso are having a great game. Hernandez has been lethal offensively on the left flank: he has been valuable on defense, but he has already logged 3 key passes and created a big chance. His play up front has been fierce.
  Coco has been all over the midfield, has 95% pass accuracy and like Hernandez has made 2 key passes. He also has 2 shots on target — one of them almost a real golazo.
• Müller and Lewandowski. Winners like PB&J. They are doing what they do best, and Bielefeld is having a very difficult time containing them.

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45’ — GOAL Bayern! Müller’d again: Thomas pulls a Cruyff just inside the penalty area and falls on his butt, but he still manages to get the ball over to Lewandowski. Lewy is pinned behind two defenders but he still manages to turn and shoot. Ortega gets a hand on the ball but can’t prevent it from rolling across the line into the net.

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43’ — As we near the end of the half, Bayern is coasting with 70% possession and 90% pass accuracy. Bielefeld has tried to launch a few attacks, but has had no luck breaking through.

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34’ — Tolisso responds with a hard shot from range, forcing Ortega to make a save. Bayern nearly score on the ensuing corner, as Coco finds Lewandowski. He heads it over the bar.

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33’ — Doan tests Neuer with a shot at the bottom right corner. Neuer saves.

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31’ — Klos with a close miss! Alaba bodies him all the way into the box into a one on one with Neuer, but he can’t get a shot off and Neuer smothers the ball.

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29’ — Ortega comes up with a great save to stop Lewandowski from scoring on a header. It was Hernandez who fought for the ball at the goal line and delivered a cross.

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26’ — GOAL for Bayern! Goretzka runs away with the ball on the sideline and feeds it inside to Lewandowski in the box. Lewy fires it right into the net. Zack, zack. 2-0.

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17’ — Another! This time it’s a corner that Müller brings down. Goretzka takes a poke at the goal, but Ortega comes up with it.

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16’ — Another great cross from Hernandez reaches Thomas Müller unmarked at the far post. Müller puts the ball on target in classically awkward style, but Ortega makes a fast reaction save to deny him a brace.

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13’ — Hernandez finds Tolisso with a cross, but Coco’s header is saved.

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9’ — GOAL for Bayern! Niklas Süle plays the ball through the lines to Lewandowski, who flicks it behind his back to Thomas Müller. Müller’s pass intended for Coman is blocked, but the ball bounces into his path as the goalkeeper helplessly watches and Müller puts it right into the net.

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7’ — Manuel Neuer runs out and takes a throw-in, because why not?

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5’ — Chippy sequence: Alaba catches Klos, while Goretzka is thrown to the ground behind him. Everyone fortunately is ok.

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3’ — Gnabry goes down in the box as two defenders jostle for the ball. The ref calls for a corner.

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Kickoff — We’re underway in [REDCACTED]!

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One hour until kickoff: We have lineups! Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry start, but Alphonso Davies is rested. He’ll be needed against Atletico.

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MATCHDAY! Bayern Munich travel to ... somewhere in Germany to take on newly promoted side Arminia Bielefeld. The Bavarians have all their players back from international duty, but with a Champions League game looming over the horizon, Hansi Flick may want to rest more players than usual.

In terms of injuries, Bayern will be without Leroy Sane, Chris Richards, and Tanguy Nianzou, although all three are doing well in their respective recoveries. Joshua Kimmich will also not play, as his partner is expecting their second child. A bunch of players, including Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba, and Serge Gnabry have just returned from international break, so they may or may not be rested. Flick will have to rely on the new signings like Douglas Costa, as well as the few senior players who missed the international break (like Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng) to be the backbone of the team.

This is a tough position to be in for a coach, especially since at Bayern you’re expected to deliver regardless of circumstances. Even so, Hansi Flick has plenty of players to accomplish his goal. Let’s hope that he can figure something out and keep the points coming. We’re not tired of winning yet.

It’s Bayern time.

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Match Info

Location: Bielefelder Alm, [REDACTED], Germany

Time: 6:30 pm local time, 12:30 pm EST

TV/streaming: ESPN+, Find Your Country

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