Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Gladbach; Florian Neuhaus not open on future plans; PSG’s Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid?; Bayern outbid for Dodo?; A swap with Arsenal involving Corentin Tolisso and Hector Bellerin; plus MORE!

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

Bayern Munich started its campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach. There was good, there was bad, but it was fun — and most importantly, the Bundesliga is back. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• I was thrilled to see the lineup and how it played together. There were some genuinely good moments at different points in the game.
• Gladbach was creating a problem early on. It was amazing to see the quality of chances they generated in the opening minutes.
• Alphonso Davies’ unnecessarily forced things multiple times early and it cost Bayern Munich early on Gladbach’s first goal. Patrick Herrmann’s initial pass was perfect and Lars Stindl’s touch pass was fantastic. Alassane Plea buried that shot authoritatively as well.
• Maybe those defensive woes weren’t really all about Hansi Flick’s high-line?
• Yann Sommer’s save on Robert Lewandowski’s volley attempt in the 14th minute was great. Sommer is a stud (obviously).
• So, yeah, things were very disjointed early on for the Bavarians.
• The red kit is not my favorite, but it was better live than in the pics we had seen.
• I think Josip Stanisic asserted himself nicely overall. It wasn’t perfect, but the kid doesn’t look overwhelmed. He had some good passes and tremendous runs forward. I loved his composure and I’m ready to start thinking he can be Benjamin Pavard’s back-up.
• Niklas Süle had some effective, space-eating dribbles from center-back. Süle was also very good overall on the day.
• Adi Hutter looks like the VP of Finance at a Silicon Valley start-up.
• Davies also had a very lazy foul when his feet got stagnant in the 22nd minute. It was a thoroughly disappointing start for the Canadian. After Dayot Upamecano headed away the lofted free kick, it almost resulted in another goal.
• Davies did get better as the game went on — especially offensively — but his defensive positioning and awareness need a lot of work.
• Sommer’s 26th minute save on Lewandowski was part fortuitous (Lewandowski should’ve let that go to Thomas Müller) and part instinct. Either way, tremendous effort again.
• Leon Goretzka was absolutely rocking the Schmedium shirt. Goretzka also had a bad first half. He perfectly — and inadvertently — set up Lars Stindl, which could have been disastrous. He was really, really poor early on, but also improved as the game went on.
• Joshua Kimmich was very, very good on the day.

• Leroy Sane missed terribly in the 27th minute. Yikes. It would have been a difficult shot regardless, but it should have been better.
• Sommer also thwarted a decent attempt from Stanisic as well.
• Lewandowski was absolutely busting it to get back and defend throughout the game. What a player.
• Sane looked, uh, very similar to last season. Ditto for Serge Gnabry, who was lackluster.
• Lewandowski’s volley goal off of Kimmich’s corner was insanely good! How he beat his defender to the spot and positioned his body was textbook. Not even Sommer could stop that.
• Joe Scally was great for Gladbach. Sane won’t forget his name any time soon. He was able to use superior positioning to thwart Sane and Kingsley Coman several times. He was probably exhausted after the match, but what an effort!
• Upamecano did not have a great debut, but was solid…until Marcus Thuram came on. Thuram gave him ALL kinds of problems. Süle and Lucas Hernandez would be my top choice center-back pairing, it I’ve felt that way since the signing was announced last winter.
• Musiala is still the team’s best wing. Gnabry and Sane were just not impressive. Coman at least posed a threat when he was out there. Sane and Gnabry are sooooooo talented, but you just never know when they are going to actually show up.
• It was a deserved point for both squads. You could argue Gladbach was actually better on the day.

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

Neuhaus won’t reveal plans (Sportbuzzer)

Gladbach star Florian Neuhaus did not have his best game against Bayern Munich and is also tight-lipped about his future plans.

”Everyone knows that things can happen very quickly in football, but I fully expect that I will play for Borussia this season,” Neuhaus told Sportbuzzer.

Should Bayern Munich be successful in its bid to sign Marcel Sabitzer, it can be assumed a pursuit of Neuhaus would fall to the wayside.

Mbappe to Madrid? (@RudyGaletti)

The timing of this seems odd (if true), but Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe is said to be closing in on a move to Real Madrid:

ICYMI: The Weekend Warm-up Podcast (Bavarian Football Works)

Another week is in the books for Bayern Munich and what a week it was.

It seems as if it is only a matter of time before the team officially extends the contract of Joshua Kimmich, but the club’s rumored pursuit of Marcel Sabitzer could have hit a roadblock.

Regardless, here are the topics we have on tap:

• The mayhem in the midfield with potential contract extensions for Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, the pursuit of Sabitzer, and possible sale of Corentin Tolisso.
• The curious case of Leroy Sane and why this year is so important for both the Sane and Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic — despite the former Manchester City man not wanting to be judged by his goals or assists.
• The uncertain season ahead of Julian Nagelsmann — especially after declaring his roster was a bit thin.

Tolisso-Bellerin swap deal? (The Hard Tackle)

This is from out of left field, but could Bayern Munich and Arsenal be talking about a swap involving Corentin Tolisso and Hector Bellerin? Uh...I guess (but I don’t believe it):

Arsenal and Bayern Munich are reportedly in talks over a shock swap deal involving Corentin Tolisso and Hector Bellerin. According to Calciomercato, as relayed by TuttoJuve, Bayern Munich and Arsenal are on the verge of reaching an agreement over a swap deal. The German champions have apparently offered 27-year-old French international Corentin Tolisso to the Premier League giants in exchange for Hector Bellerin moving the other way around.

It appears to be a smart maneuver from the Bavarian club, who are in the market for Marcel Sabitzer. But in order to sign the RB Leipzig midfielder, they need to offload one of the fringe players, with Tolisso emerging as an ideal option. The Frenchman was linked with a move to Juventus as well, but it seems Arsenal are currently the likeliest destination.

Bayern outbid for Dodo? (HITC)

Bayern Munich has been linked to Dodo in the past, but not recently...right?

Maybe not.

According to the report below, Bayern Munich was ready to buck up for Dodo, a right-back, earlier this summer:

Tottenham Hotspur have failed with a £17 million bid for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian star Dodo, according to Globo Esporte. With Shaktar rejecting that offer out of hand, is Spurs’ pursuit of a rampaging right-back dead as the proverbial, you know, dodo? Not necessarily.

Tottenham aren’t going to give up that easily, it seems, with negotiations between the clubs continuing into the final few weeks of the transfer window. Then again, the wisdom of offering £17 million – after Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich put £22 million on the table earlier this summer and received the same answer – is questionable.

All you Tottenham...all you.