RB Leipzig 1-4 Bayern Munich: Initial reactions and observations

Initial reactions and observations

• Both the teams came back on the pitch with a lot more sting in their attack. Bayern created some wonderful chances and scored early into the second half. Andre Silva’s effort was called offside, but it was Konrad Laimer’s beautiful shot that opened Leipzig’s scoring.
• Despite the Bayern defence getting caught off guard a few times, Hernandez and Upamecano did wonderfully to hold the fort at the back. The duo provided the necessary rigidity at times when the visitors looked shaky. Leipzig’s intensity trailed off and gave away more goals than they should have and made a fairly even game look one sided.
• Jamal Musiala the wunderkind! It’s hard to believe the kid is just 18 years old. His movement and slick footwork were on display as he was massively involved in both the goals in the second half. A performance such as this, against probably the best opposition in the Bundesliga is a major step up as he continues his development.
• Leroy Sane was superb on the left once again. Maybe he really should stick to that wing.
• Marcel Sabitzer made his debut in a Bayern shirt against his former club and almost scored a goal had it not been for Peter Gulasci’s heroics.

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Fulltime: RB Leipzig 1:4 Bayern Munich

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92’ — GOAL! Choupo Moting scores a late goal to make it 1-4!

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75’ — Double substitution for Bayern. Niklas Sule and Josip Stanisic come on for Thomas Muller and Benjamin Pavard.

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58’ — Goal for Leipzig. Konrad Laimer scores a banger to pull one back for the homeside.

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54’ — GOAL! Musiala the super sub assists Leroy Sane for Bayern’s third goal of the night!

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51’ — Andre Silva’s goal is called offside, as Bayern get away with a slip-up.

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47’ — GOAL! Musiala scores Bayern’s second!

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45’ — The players are back and the referee kicks off the second half!

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Halftime observations and analysis

• The central defensive duo of Hernandez and Upamecano have been brilliant. They have kept the Leipzig forwards at bay with relative ease. The Upamecano-Silva battle has been fun to watch with Dayot getting the upper hand on Silva so far.
• Kevin Kampl had an unusual shaky start to his game that gave Bayern a couple of good opportunities. Lewandowski put away the penalty to give Bayern their slim one goal lead.
• Both teams have been even so far with Bayern creating better chances but struggling to get the final touch in the box.

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Halftime

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45’ — Jamal Musiala is on for Serge Gnabry.

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42’ — Serge Gnabry is down clutching his leg. Not a good sign for upcoming fixtures, especially the Barcelona game.

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12’ — GOAL! Lewandowski opens the scoring with a perfect penalty!

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Kickoff!: We are underway in Leipzig!

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One hour until kickoff: Lineups are out! Looks like Leroy Sane has been given the nod ahead of Musiala, while Hernandez starts in place of Sule. Thomas Muller and Alphonso Davies start as expected.

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MATCHDAY! The Bundesliga is back and Bayern Munich restart with one of the hardest fixtures of them all — RB Leipzig away. Jesse Marsch and his boys haven’t exactly started the league in red hot form, but they still have plenty of talent to hurt a Bayern team that will be tired from playing a large number of games during the international break.

For Julian Nagelsmann, this is a homecoming that could get very uncomfortable. Boos from the Leipzig faithful aside, the coach has a to field an XI consisting of players who’ve barely had time to train together since the end of the international break. Meanwhile, given that the Bavarians must travel to Barcelona in midweek, Nagelsmann also has to think about resting potentially overworked or half-injured individuals.

Alphonso Davies, Thomas Muller, and Dayot Upamecano only just returned from injury, while key players like Robert Lewandowski, Joshua Kimmich, and Leroy Sane started every game for their national team sides. The schedule list has thrown Bayern a real doozy this time. How will the coach react?

It’s Bayern time.

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Match Info

Location: Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany

Time: 6:30 pm local time, 12:30 pm EST

TV/streaming: ESPN+, Find Your Country

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