Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Arminia Bielefeld; Erling Haaland vs. Angry Woman steals the show; Liverpool chasing fastest player in the Bundesliga?; Manchester City wants Dani Olmo; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 1-0 victory over Arminia (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich gutted out a 1-0 victory over a deep-sitting Arminia Bielefeld side in a game that felt a little closer than the final numbers would indicate. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• The charade that Bayern a Munich is playing a back-four continues to go on. Truthfully, I’m okay with Julian Nagelsmann moving to a back three, but it is so peculiar that there is so much hesitancy to just say it.
• Similarly, Robert Lewandowski’s concern about the box being too crowded is legitimate. It is taking too many passes to get the ball to Lewandowski and Müller. No offense to Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, or whoever, but I want Lewandowski and Müller on the ball far more in the final third.
• The attacking of Alphonso Davies is just unreal at this point. The only downside is the extra bodies that are clogging the area. Part of this makes me wonder if it isn’t time to push Davies to being a wing full-time (if this was actually a 4-2-3-1). Even Davies had trouble keeping navigating up the left channel because of the traffic at times.
• Thomas Müller had some great deliveries in the match. But this goes to my point…Müller and Lewandowski need to have the ball more. Müller was an invaluable part of the Bayern Munich machine for his work rate and leadership. It was a tremendous match for the Raumdeuter, who was also credited with an assist.
• Corentin Tolisso definitely needs to find a new home. Tolisso was good against Arminia Bielefeld and is showing enough that he can be a valuable, starting player for a good club.
• Bayern Munich just appeared to be snake bitten on the day. Stefan Ortega handled the shots that were at him, but it’s not like he was sprawling out all over and making highlight reel stops. It was a solid game from Ortega, but he was not single-handed you making world class saves all over the place. Bayern Munich’s finishing was not up to par.
• Benjamin Pavard performed pretty well as one of the three center-backs. This could have been Pavard’s best game for the season.
• Jamal Musiala subbing in for Leon Goretzka was something that I was not sure I agreed with at the time, but I suppose it worked. I feel like sometimes you have to let a player sort it out on the pitch if he’s not quite at his best, but Julian Nagelsmann had seen enough and Goretzka did not look thrilled to hit the pine.
• Give Arminia Bielefeld credit, they defended their butts off and sure, they parked the bus, but the point would have huge for them and they were going to do whatever was needed to try and get it.
• Leroy Sane’s left-footed rocket for Bayern Munich’s goal was outstanding. He took a small touch and had just enough space to unleash an absolute blast.

• Bayern Munich simply gutted out the victory under some tough circumstances. There were things that I didn’t like, but there are not fatal flaws on the squad. I’d expect to see the offense flow better as the season goes on.
• What the plans are for a right wing-back? If the hybrid formation continues to look more like back-three than a back-four, will Pavard be the answer or will Nagelsmann opt for a position transition for Kingsley Coman or Serge Gnabry? Josip Stanisic could also work his way into that mix, but it feels like — at some point — Nagelsmann is going to address this because two wing-backs bombing up the pitch could lead to a lot of odd-man breaks, especially since the Bayern Munich center-backs often are caught too far up the pitch as well.
• Overall, it was a win and it was three badly needed points. On this particular day, that’s all that really counts.

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

LFC chasing German prospect faster than Davies? (Liverpool.com)

Liverpool reportedly has its eyes on SC Freiburg wunderkind Kevin Schade — who some feel is faster than Alphonso Davies:

Freiburg have been the surprise team in the Bundesliga this season, with the German minnows building a team capable of challenging the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

One of the club’s brightest emerging young talents is Kevin Schade, who has stood out with his explosive pace, and exquisite dribbling ability since making his debut in a victory against Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the season.

The 19-year-old is yet to score or assist for Freiburg, but he has been prolific at youth level and he is reportedly on the radar of Liverpool.

According to German outlet NTV, Liverpool were interested in Schade over the summer and have tracked the teenager’s progress in the Bundesliga.

Despite the lack of goals and assists in the first team, it’s easy to see why Schade would be of interest to Liverpool.

ICYMI: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 26

After a one-week hiatus, the Weekend Warm-up Podcast is back and there was quite a bit to look at after the crazy week that Bayern Munich had.

Here is what we have on tap:

• A quick note of thanks to all of the listeners, readers, and BFW staffers who worked together to make this site the best Bayern Munich blog/fan zone/meeting of the minds on the internet.
• A look at how COVID-19 is impacting the squad and why it could prove to be disastrous for the team this season.
• Why Joshua Kimmich needs to figure out how to move forward.
• Why Bayern Munich should make it a point to stomp out FC Barcelona.
• A quick look at the transfer rumors linking Dusan Vlahovic, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, and Pedri Bayern Munich.

City wants Olmo (Transfer Market Web)

It looks like we can add Manchester City to the list of clubs that are in pursuit of RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo:

As reported by the Italian newspaper CalcioMercato on its website, Manchester City is interested in acquiring the services of Dani Olmo in the next summer transfer market with the intention of adding more young talent to its squad and for its fit within the game idea of ​​Pep Guardiola, who is a fan of his talent.

The 23-year-old Spanish attacker ends his contract with RB Leipzig in the summer of 2024, but his intention is to change clubs as soon as possible to take a quality leap at the individual level and prove himself in a favorite club to win important titles .

His decision has generated an important impact on different clubs that, according to different media, have contacted Leipzig to find out their availability to sell to one of their main stars. FC Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool are some of the clubs that have knocked on the doors of the German team in recent months.

Manchester City has joined the bid in recent days because Dani Olmo is a footballer that Pep Guardiola likes a lot and because he fits into the idea of ​​the game, taking into account that he is a versatile footballer and that he would arrive to occupy the Roles that Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres, both in the sights of FC Barcelona for the winter, can leave free in the next markets.

This…is…so…good (@DexertoFC)

This is just so perfect…from Erling Haaland, from the random lady…it’s just the best:

The fun police showed up nd took the video down, but essentially Haaland scored, pointed to a woman in the stands (perhaps someone’s grandma) and she was having none of it, so she flipped him off.

Haaland’s response was priceless:

This Twitter account (@ElFrancoDeLFut) nailed it in 8-bit:

Haaland then commented on the graphic:

Haaland is the best.

Four teams eyeing Zakaria (Sport1)

Juventus, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, and AS Roma are all — allegedly — getting serious about Gladbach’s Denis Zakaria:

Denis Zakaria’s contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach expires in June 2022. Many clubs are interested in the defensive midfielder who has been playing for the foals since 2017, four should now be seriously in the race. The Italian transfer market expert Nicolò Schira reports that Juventus Turin, Manchester United, AS Roma and FC Barcelona have their eyes on the 25-year-old.

It is still unclear whether one of the four clubs will eventually become the new employer. The contract extension proposed by Gladbach is said to have been rejected by Zakaria so far. Most recently, sports director Max Eberl had not given up hope of extending it with Zakaria.