Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. FC Viktoria Plzeň; Bayern to spend €100M on Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane?; Mats Hummels is angry; Toni Kroos to finish career at Real Madrid; Thomas Tuchel campaigning for England job?; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 4-2 win over FC Viktoria Plzeň (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich took care of business in the Champions League by downing FC Viktoria Plzeň 4-2. The Bavarians used an early onslaught to pull away from the home side and set themselves up nicely for this weekend’s match against SC Freiburg. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Given the players available, the starting XI was not a shock. Benjamin Pavard slid in to play center-back, while Noussair Mazraoui (right-back) and Josip Stanišić (left-back) manned the defensive flanks. Ryan Gravenberch remained on the bench, as did Mathys Tel:

• I was not a big fan of how Stanišić and Mazraoui played. I like both players, but they need to do much better when given the opportunity. I think Pavard is far clear of Mazraoui at this point. Stanišić has now turned in two shaky performances in a row as well. I’m not down on either player and don’t event think they were bad, but I do expect more out of both when they get chances like this.
• Bayern Munich’s start was pretty devastating. The Rekordmeister had energy and was playing at an electric pace.
• Sadio Mané got it going early with goal in the 10th minute. Leon Goretzka — the star of the show — had the assist. I thought Mané turned in a pretty solid shift on the day.
• Four minutes later, Kingsley Coman sent a soft cross over to Thomas Müller for Bayern Munich’s second goal. I don’t care if it was a tap in, it was good to see Müller get on the scoresheet. For this team to reach its potential, Müller needs to start displaying his scoring chops.
• Müller later set up Goretzka for a goal before leaving the match with a muscle issue.
• Goretzka would later add another goal before the first half ended.
• The second half provided a flip of sorts. Bayern Munich came out flat and FC Viktoria Plzeň played with a lot of urgency — which ultimately led to them scoring two goals.
• Mathys Tel, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Ryan Gravenberch, Paul Wanner, and Marcel Sabitzer all got time in substitute appearances. Wanner played left-back, which was a bit of an adventure at times, but it was good to see some of the youngster get Champions League field time.
• Sven Ulreich had a couple of shaky moments, but he got the “dub.”
• Overall, Bayern Munich had a solid showing. They did what they had to do in bouncing back from the late-game Dortmund debacle. Now, with SC Freiburg and FC Barcelona ahead, the Bavarians can relax and mentally regroup before getting focused on two very big games.

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

Bayern to hit nine figures on bid for Kane? (Tz via @iMiaSanMia)

According to Tz journalists Philipp Kessler and Mano Bonke, Bayern Munich could be ready to splurge up to nine figures on Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane:

If everything between Bayern and Harry Kane is 100% agreed, the club would be willing to pay over €100m in transfer fee to bring the English striker to Munich.

I think that however much Bayern Munich is willing to spend on Kane will be determined by how the next few months go with the 4-2-2-2 — and how much progress Mathys Tel makes.

I don’t expect Tel to be ready to be a full-time No. 9 next season, so should the lack of a striker continue to be an issue, it seems safe to say that Bayern Munich will be ready to look at someone like Kane.

Hummels had a “not this (bleep) again moment” (Sport1)

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels was irate after his squad suffered through a 1-1 draw with Sevilla.

“After halftime, we must have lost 20 balls easily, unnecessarily leaving the game completely open against an insecure team,” Hummels said. “We didn’t have enough game intelligence. Football is actually a very simple game, but we always make it complicated ourselves.”

Hummels was not done there, though.

“Some people have to get it out of their heads that football has to be sexy, that successful football isn’t a one-two-three from five yards, but that a player always does the right thing and not something special,” said Hummels. “It’s difficult when you feel like there aren’t enough people trying to push things forward.”

One player who agreed with Hummels was star midfielder Jude Bellingham.

“Mats is definitely right. We have to play differently against Union on Sunday,” said Bellingham.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 15 (Bavarian Football Works)

So that resurgence didn’t last. After big wins vs Leverkusen and Plzen, Bayern Munich have gone and conceded a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 vs Borussia Dortmund. Once again we’re back to debating Julian Nagelsmann and the crisis that the team finds itself in. With the specter of poor results hanging over Bayern, where do we go next?

In this episode, INNN and Tom discuss:

• The complete lack of any pattern to Bayern Munich’s draws/losses this season.
• What exactly can Julian Nagelsmann do to fix these errant results?
• Is there a mentality problem with the players?
• A quick look at the next three games coming up — Plzen, Freiburg, and Augsburg.
• Why Bayern Munich CANNOT afford to lose to Plzen no matter what. Implications for the Champions League group.
• Musings about Oliver Kahn’s potential reaction to a loss to Augsburg.
• Why Thomas Tuchel being available casts a shadow over Julian Nagelsmann’s future at the club.
• INNN tries to crush Tom’s dreams of being a professional footballer.
• Rapidly ending the pod with an appeal to Hansi Flick. Come baaaaack.

Should Bayern take a gamble? (@FootballWTF27)

I was a proponent of getting Erling Haaland...and now I am wondering if Bayern Munich should go after his Terminator clone cousin Albert Braut Haaland:

The future for Kroos will be determined by Kroos (@Plettigoal)

Real Madrid star Toni Kroos will have a say in where and when he ends his illustrious career ends. Carlo Ancelotti is saying Kroos will end his career at Real Madrid either way:

Tuchel’s campaign to coach England starting? (@cfbayern)

This sounds exactly like something former Chelsea FC and Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel would want want put out into people’s thoughts. England might need some fresh ideas...and lo and behold look who’s available: