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Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 Bayern Munich: Initial reactions and observations

Only two teams have beaten Hansi Flick since he took over. Bayern got revenge on one of them.

By Ineednoname and MarcusIredahl Updated

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Bavaria Munich - Bayer Leverkusen Photo by Tobias Hase/picture alliance via Getty Images

Initial Observations and Analysis:

  • Bayern played extremely well. Best players on the pitch was the 3 Germans in the middle of the park: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Thomas Muller.
  • Bayern’s relentless pressing is very impressive. They never look tired and keep on going for a full 90 minutes.
  • Florian Wirtz is 17-years-old and he just scored his first Bundesliga goal against Bayern and he just became Bundesliga’s youngest goal scorer in history... massive respect!
  • Bayern have one hand on the title and it looks like the title is coming back to Munich yet again.

89’— GOAL FOR LEVERKUSEN! Florian Wirtz scores his first Bundesliga goal, aged 17...

84’— Hernandez comes on for Davies. Another brilliant display for the young Canadian.

73’— Martinez comes on for Goretzka and Thiago comes on for Gnabry

65’— GOAL FOR BAYERN! Lewandowski scores his first of the day after a great cross from Thomas Muller!

45’ — The second half is underway!

Halftime Observations and Analysis:

  • Bayern are playing, unsurprisingly, very well. Offensively, they have been clinical and creative. Defensively, it has a times looked a bit shaky but overall it has been a very good first half.
  • Flick’s tactics have worked against Bosz’s 3 in the back. Bayern are pressing high, not allowing Leverkusen any time on the ball to build up their play.
  • Joshua Kimmich has been fantastic and shows why he is becoming one of the best number 6’s in the world. Thomas Muller continues his fantastic form and has been, again, the centre of Bayern’s offence.

45’— GOAL FOR BAYERN! Kimmich with a Xavi-esque pass finds Serge Gnabry who lobs it over Hradecky! What a goal!! 3-1!

41’— GOAL FOR BAYERN! Go(al)retzka the goal scorer! Great strike from outside the penalty area that squeezes pass Hradecky! 2-1 for Bayern!!

26’— COMAN LEVELS IT FOR BAYERN! Great pass from Thomas Muller which opens up the Leverkusen defence. Wonderful finishing from Coman! Deserved!

9’— GOAL FOR LEVERKUSEN! Lucas Alario scores after a great finish. Cold shower for Bayern!

Kickoff: We’re underway!

Big news: Looks like Havertz is out of the game due to an injury. Uncanny timing.

One hour until kickoff: Lineups are out! Flick opts to start Goretzka instead of Thiago! No Lucas either.

MATCHDAY! After a breather against Dusseldorf, Bayern Munich are back to facing stiff opposition with a game against Bayer Leverkusen. Peter Bosz has his squad clicking since lockdown ended, and star player Kai Havertz is in red-hot form at the moment. Hansi Flick will need to pull out all the stops to prevent a repeat of the Hinrunde result.

Luckily, Thiago Alcantara and Lucas Hernandez are back from injury and ready to feature. Whether they will actually play or not is a matter of debate, but at least having them on the squad will be a huge boost to the team. Asked about resting Alphonso Davies, Flick replied that they were managing his workload in training, so it implies that there will be little to no rotation heading into the game. This makes sense, as anything less than a full Champagne XI with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, and Serge Gnabry is unlikely to make a dent on the high-flying Leverkusen. Let’s see what the boys have in store for us.

It’s Bayern time.

Match Info

Location: BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany

Time: 3:30 pm local time, 9:30 am EST

TV/streaming: Fubo.tv, Find Your Country

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