Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. SpVgg Greuther Fürth; Matthijs de Ligt to Chelsea?; Bayern has competition for FC Dallas star Ricardo Pepi; Bayern eyeing Dan-Axel Zagadou?; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 3-1 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich crushed SpVgg Greuther Fürth 3-1 behind a dominant effort from just about everyone on the pitch. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• It was quite the interesting lineup for Julian Nagelsmann as Lucas Hernandez played left-back and pushed Alphonso Davies up to left-wing (at least on the lineup sheet).
• It was hard to say what formation (if any) Bayern Munich was trying to play early. It felt like a 3-5-2 with Leroy Sane playing a central role. Early in the match, Sane and Davies both were on the left side with Sane really roaming all over at times.
• Back in my day, we called those pants that Nagelsmann’s was wearing, “floods.”
• Just as Greuther Fürth was starting to put the heat on Bayern Munich a little bit, Die Roten had a breakout fueled by Alphonso Davies, who sent a nice cross into the box, which found Thomas Müller for an early 1-0 lead.
• I’ll say it again, like VfL Bochum, Greuther Fürth chose to actually play the game and not just sit back and...why not? They had nothing to lose. I admire the brave mindset.
• I thought the Greuther Fürth uniforms were pretty cool. I typically don’t like gold lettering and numbers on a white base.
• It’s hard to believe Julian Green is 26-years-old, he looks like he’s a young 40. I feel like if you sent him back to the early 90s in a time machine and dropped him in a Digital Underground video, he’d fit right in. Does that make sense? It’s been a long week.
• Joshua Kimmich is a goal-scoring machine these days. Such nice placement to give Bayern Munich a 2-0.
• Benjamin Pavard did not need to take that challenge. It was far more risk than reward. For a player under fire, Pavard did not do himself any favors.
• Julian Nagelsmann also missed his chair:

• The game really devolved into sloppiness in the second half.
• On the own goal, Müller had three players (three!) covering him.
• Manuel Neuer lost his clean sheet, but it was a really nice header goal from Cedric Itten.
• Overall, Bayern Munich did exactly what it needed to do under the circumstances. Take a the three points and move along.

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

Chelsea eyeing De Ligt (Sport1)

Chelsea is seemingly always involved in major transfer rumors these days, so why not add the recent news about Matthijs de Ligt to the mix:

Antonio Rüdiger’s future at Chelsea is still uncertain - and seems ready to be looking for a replacement.

According to the Mirror , the Blues are interested in Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus Turin. The newspaper reports that the central defender is now at the top of Thomas Tuchel’s wish list after a transfer from Jules Koundé could have been broken.

A transfer could be interesting for de Ligt, as the 22-year-old is not seen as indispensable in Turin and is repeatedly criticized. For Chelsea, the Dutchman’s commitment is likely to be extremely expensive and likely to be in the three-digit million range. However, they have repeatedly proven that the blues can handle such transfers.

Bayern has competition for Pepi (@MLSTransfers)

Earlier in the week, we saw rumors that Bayern Munich was exploring an acquisition of FC Dallas star Ricardo Pepi. Bologna and AC Milan, however, would also like to bring in the the USMNT star:

Bayern chasing Zagadou? (Transfer Market Web)

Bayern Munich has been linked to yet another center-back. This time, it is Borussia Dortmund’s Dan-Axel Zagadou:

Playing for Borussia Dortmund since 2017/18, 22-year old French-Ivorian centre-back Dan-Axel Zagadou might be soon putting ink to paper over a deal extension for German giants, beyond current June 2022 deadline. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain alumni, currently recovering from a serious knee injury, and about to get on the pitch again, is an alleged target for Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Across his BVB tenure, Zagadou has so far capped 73 times in official games, scoring four goals therein, winning 2019 German Supercup and 2020/21 DFB-Pokal. Besides, he represented French on a youth level, all the way from Under-16 level to Under-21 one, from 2014 to 2019.