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Bayern Munich’s throttling at the hands of Hoffenheim left many scratching their heads, but no one was probably more confused than Michaël Cuisance and Alexander Nübel, who were dropped in favor of Jamal Musiala and Sven Ulreich respectively.
While Musiala has been proving himself on the training ground and Ulreich is about as good a back-up goalkeeper as there is in the Bundesliga, leaving Cuisance and Nübel in the stands was certainly not something it would appear that either player had in mind for this season.
Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick briefly explained his thought process, which was originally captured by Sport 1 reporter Florian Plettenberg:
„Statt #Cuisance war Musiala im Kader, weil er es zuletzt sehr gut gemacht hat. Ich bin mit Alex Nübel sehr zufrieden, aber wir haben uns heute für Sven Ulreich entscheiden“ - Flick zu 2 Personalien. Bei der Ulreich-Frage stieg er ein mit: „Er kennt unsere Philosophie...“ @SPORT1
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) September 27, 2020
The translation, as provided by @iMiaSanMia:
Hansi Flick on dropping Cuisance and Nübel: "Musiala was in the squad instead of Cuisance because he did very well recently - I'm very happy with Alex Nübel but today we decided for Ulreich. He (Sven) knows our philosophy" [@Plettigoal]
— Quadruple Winners (@iMiaSanMia) September 27, 2020
What does this mean for Cuisance and Nübel moving forward? It is tough to tell. For Nübel, it is hard to think that the 23-year-old will be able to break into the game-day squad ahead of Ulreich too much at this stage.
As for Cuisance, the waters are a bit more murky. After entering a “midfield logjam” last season, Cuisance appeared to be on his way toward more field time this season after the departure of Thiago Alcantara and the much-rumored exit for Javi Martinez. Still just 21-years-old, Cuisance has a lot of time to develop, but could grow impatient if he is not at least consistently dressing for games.
We should get a better read on how Bayern Munich will handle the immediate future for each player in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!