Daily Schmankerl: Comment on the Champions League here, plus the aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid; Cristiano Ronaldo to Bayern?; FC Barcelona to move on Sadio Mané; Michaël Cuisance hits Twitter to vent; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 1-1 draw with Atleti (Bavarian Football Works)

All things considered, a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid is not a bad result for Bayern Munich after Hansi Flick rolled the dice with a lot of young players and reserves. Granted, it took the introduction of Thomas Müller into the game to make that draw happen, but Bayern will certainly take that point and run out of Madrid. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Given the players missing and those who started on the bench, every Bayern Munich fan knew this would be an up-hill battle. And it was in just about every way, but the Bavarians showed the toughness, resilience, and never-say-die attitude that they have become known for since Hansi Flick took the helm.
• Bringing Müller and Serge Gnabry provided an instant impact offensively and changed the course of the game. Müller earned the penalty kick and drilled it with aplomb to knot the game at 1-1. In his brief time on the pitch Müller was superior.
• Gnabry — when he wasn’t attacking Atletico Madrid players from the top turnbuckle — helped create some disruption on offense even if the scoresheet does not show anything.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

• Joao Felix showed that talent that a lot of people love. He will really be dangerous for Los Rojiblancos if he can become a more consistent player.
• For the most part, it was not an impressive showing from the team’s veterans. I wanted to see Leroy Sane take the reins and he just didn’t assert himself enough for my liking.
• Niklas Süle and David Alaba were decent, but also had some very shaky moments.
• Alexander Nübel survived, which is not a bad thing. Nübel showed some nerves, but stood tall for the most part. His instincts and passing are nowhere near Manuel Neuer (no one’s really are), but that was a good challenge for the youngster. He did have some “hold your breath” passes that really shouldn’t happen, though. He has to improve his weight and accuracy. Do you know how that could happen? Maybe with a loan, so he can play more consistently...just sayin’.
• For the youngsters, it was a mixed bag. Bright-Arrey Mbi is not close to being ready yet for the first-team, while Jamal Musiala showed some flashes of his vast potential. Joshua Zirkzee didn’t really play enough to make an impact, while Chris Richards was active and willing defensively and Angelo Stiller came in and complete 11 of 13 passes. Stiller’s performance was at least enough to show he wasn’t afraid of the moment — and honestly that is exactly what you want to see.
• Musiala, Richards, and Stiller — successful or not in the long run of the game — did not look intimidated. In fact, they looked eager to attack the game. Good for them. This is an excellent building block for the young trio.
• Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting wasn’t active enough at striker. It’s impossible to replicate the ground that Robert Lewandowski covers and his overall involvement in the game, but Bayern needs more from Choupo-Moting when he’s on the pitch.
• Douglas Costa still holds the ball way too long and it kills too many possessions.
• I am still not seeing why Bayern Munich had to sign Bouna Sarr. Did he do anything that Richards could not have done?

If you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look:

Ronaldo to Bayern? Uh, sure (Don Balon)

Don Balon (yesssssss) had a cracker of a story about Cristiano Ronaldo making the move to Bavaria. Even better, Ronaldo will cost Bayern...nothing. All Bayern Munich has to give up for CR7 is Javi Martinez. Who knew?

THE DON KNEW:

A new possibility has opened up: that Javi leaves for a Juventus team that needs a central defender to guarantee that he will be able to compete against the constant injuries of Chiellini and Bonucci, and CR7 will arrive at the Bundesliga to finish his career as a professional footballer in a last attempt to achieve the so longed for Champions League.

The price of both players is the same: 10 million euros. How can Juventus sell Cristiano for that price? On the one hand, the Portuguese player is 35 years old, so nobody is willing to pay a large amount for an eminently physical player who is approaching the end of his career. On the other hand, the urgent need for Juventus to free themselves from the wage bill in order to renew the team in attack with new stars.

That’s why La Vecchia Signora are willing to get rid of CR7 if it means leaving room for the new Juve that is about to arrive and also a central defender lands in Turin to reinforce Juventus’ defense.

Well, that’s it. Someone get in contact with Serge Gnabry and see what it will take to give up the number 7.

If (when?) Ronaldo makes the move, I will personally buy one BFW reader a Ronaldo jersey.

Barca to take a run at Mane? (Transfer Market Web)

FC Barcelona is reportedly tinkering with the idea of pursuing Liverpool’s Sadio Mané:

According to Daily Express, Barcelona FC management, after having inquired him about in summer 2019, are planning a run at Senegalese international winger/forward Sadio Mané (28). Playing for Liverpool since 2016/17, former Southampton and Salzburg man, currently on a deal with Reds until June 2023, is worth around 85 million euros.

Choupo-Claus sending Bayern jerseys back home to family in Cameroon (Bild)

Bayern Munich’s Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and his proud father are sending Bayern jerseys back to family in Cameroon this Christmas. Choupo-Moting was born in Hamburg, Germany; his mother is German and father is Cameroonian.

The striker said: “My father was just in Cameroon and actually already took a whole heap of jerseys with him. I’ll send a few more before Christmas. It’s something special when you play for Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich.”

Lampard not worried about benching Hudson-Odoi (Sky Sports)

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard made the decision to leave Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur, but was not too concerned that it would damage the youngster’s psyche.

“I am aware of Callum and where he is at. He took it very well (missing Tottenham) and it is not an easy conversation to have because all players want to play, I expect that,” Lampard said. “He will get his opportunities. It is up to him to show when he plays that he deserves to start because there is competition in that area. That’s the reality of playing for Chelsea. I am not worried about the noise around it or the permutations of what not being in the squad will be down the line. I want him to understand where he’s at this minute, which is that he’s getting better.”

Cuisance not happy with himself (@MichaelCUISANCE)

Bayern Munich-loanee Michaël Cuisance did not put forth a great performance in Olympique Marseille’s 2-1 victory over Olympiacos and he took to Twitter to vent at himself:

When pressed what the LOL meant, Cuisance explained he was a bit exasperated with himself:

Not satisfied with my match

Good for Cuisance for owning a poor performance, but Twitter can be a bad place to open yourself up:

Brother don’t come and talk with the disgusting match you just did, it looked like a dog lost on the field