Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim; Sergio Ramos to Manchester United?; Jerome Boateng at the heart of Bayern Munich’s power struggle?; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 4-1 win over TSG1899 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich put forth a thoroughly dominant effort in wrecking Hoffenheim 4-1. Hansi Flick’s boys were on-point, creative, aggressive, and relentless on the day. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Hoffenheim sat back deep and waited to try and take advantage of counterattack opportunities. Manuel Neuer was up to the task early and was one of the best players overall on the day.
• I always have liked Mijat Gacinovic’s game and he was trouble for Bayern Munich early in the game, but Hoffenheim could not muster a consistent threat and frankly looked a little worn down from the constant pressure they were facing.
• Benjamin Pavard looked far more confident in moving forward early in the game and put in another effort that indicates he’s headed in the right direction.
• I like how fierce Bayern Munich has been in looking for its own quick counter-attack. They always looks potent when driving forward quickly and rightfully so.
• Jerome Boateng’s solid season continued as his first half header off of a corner gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 lead. Joshua Kimmich picked up his league-leading 10th assist on the play.
• Is there a better midfielder in the world right now than Kimmich? I think not.
• Marc Roca was good as a stay at home defensive-midfielder. Roca’s conservative presence allowed Kimmich to play more aggressively on offense and helped keep a stable entity in front of the backline. Roca, however, does not offer much going forward. That is clearly an area of his game that he’ll need to work on to make himself a more well-rounded player.
• Thomas Müller’s torrid hot streak continued as he deposited a first half goal off of a deft little assist from Robert Lewandowski. With Müller scoring at this rate, Bayern Munich is going to be very difficult to beat. This site is a Müller “love fest” most days, but you have to appreciate what he is doing on a game-to-game basis. It is simply incredible.
• Andrej Kramaric’s goal occurred seconds after Müller’s and it came as a direct result from Alphonso Davies being caught too far up the pitch and allowing a quick break to occur. Davies made a couple of potentially harmful mistakes early, but Bayern Munich walked away unscathed in those instances, but not this time. Davies has become an interesting figure to watch of late. His decision-making on the ball is still not where it needs to be and his poor positioning has directly resulted in several goals this season. It appears that the youthful Canadian is going to have to learn that despite his fantastic speed, he can’t win every race and recover.
• And, yeah, Boateng and Alaba also have to be positioned better on that play as well, but Davies’ poor positioning left those two prone unfortunately. Credit to Kramaric for the sweet finish.
• Lewandowski picked up a well-deserved goal in the 57th minute when he tapped in a rebound off a cross from Kingsley Coman that Oliver Baumann got a piece of.
• Serge Gnabry also got back on the scoring track. After a series of good runs, Gnabry was finally rewarded. The assist came from Coman, who was excellent on the day. Gnabry’s movement was much better on the day and he looked invigorated on the pitch.
• Bayern Munich is at its best when Hansi Flick is pushing all the right buttons with his roster and he was pretty much perfect yesterday.

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

Ramos wants a move to United? (ESPN)

After being (very) loosely linked to Bayern Munich last week, ESPN captured a report from The Mirror that states Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos would welcome a transfer to Manchester United:

Sergio Ramos is ready to quit Real Madrid in favour of a move to Manchester United, the Mirror reports. In addition to contract talks between Ramos and Real falling apart, the Spaniard has now also reportedly decided that he isn’t interested in a move to Paris Saint-Germain, instead preferring to test himself in the Premier League. Possible switches to Manchester City or Liverpool have previously been described as very difficult, whereas Old Trafford is thought to be top of the Spain international’s wish list.

Boateng’s future causing strife? (Tz)

Tz issued a report that indicated that the future of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng could be at the heart of the alleged issues between Hansi Flick and Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic:

So would an Upamecano transfer also mean the end for Boateng? “We’ll sit down together in good time to plan the squad for next season and then let the players know what that might look like,” Flick said on Saturday evening.

The coach did not appear to be very happy. It’s quite possible that the Boateng personnel issue will end up in a small power struggle between Flick and Salihamidzic. However, the sports director will ultimately have the upper hand...

Right now, everyone is trying to find that one key reason that there is some strain going on internally with Bayern Munich. Is it Boateng’s future? Is it Alaba’s? Or how about a potential move for Dayot Upamecano?

We don’t know. We might never know. But at least Boateng is performing. If this truly is his last season in Bavaria, the veteran is putting forth a great effort.

Bavarian Grass Works mini: The Horror (@FootballSwissEN)

Imagine your pitch was so saturated that the ball would not bounce. Well, in the Grasshoppers vs. Aarau fixture from the Swiss Challenge League, this happened:

I could carry on here for about 1500 words, but this is a family website. Let’s move on before I get myself in trouble.