Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. FC Augsburg; Pep Guardiola wants to keep İlkay Gündoğan at Manchester City; The worst sports-themed song...ever; Cody Gakpo to get back on Manchester United’s radar; & MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 5-2 victory over Augsburg (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich got off to a shaky start, but rebounded nicely to bat away a pesky FC Augsburg side, who made life very difficult at times for the Bavarians in a 5-2 win in the DFB-Pokal.

While some folks might have been uneasy at times, the Bayern Munich squad remained confident through the match and it paid off. Here are some quick hitters on the match: at times

• Julian Nagelsmann’s went with a lineup that offered few surprises. Just about the only somewhat expected move was having Jamal Musiala included in the starting lineup:

• FC Augsburg came out like a bat out of hell. Full of energy and making Bayern Munich completely uncomfortable.
• In the 9th minute it paid off as Mads Pedersen put FC Augsburg ahead 1-0.
• Bayern Munich looked absolutely shellshocked. Most of the players shook it off and regrouped...some others did not.
• Sadio Mané was one of those who could not pull it together and had a pretty bad night. In hindsight, it might not have been wise to run him back so soon after a Sunday game — and making the trip to Paris for the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
• Joshua Kimmich, however, eventually adapted to FC Augsburg’s rapid pace early on and settled into dictated play once more. For the game, Kimmich ended up putting in an excellent performance. His midfield mate, Leon Goretzka, was solid as well — just not as impactful on the scoresheet as we have seen in recent matches.
• Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (27th minute) eventually knotted the game and put in another very strong effort. Kimmich (53rd minute with an assist from Choupo-Moting) and Choupo-Moting (59th minute) would strike quick in the second half to put Bayern Munich up 3-1.
• An unfortunate (and unlucky) own goal by Dayot Upamecano temporarily cut the deficit, but from there it was all Bayern Munich.
• Musiala got a deserved goal in the 74th minute, while Davies added a goal in extra time.
• I felt like this was Davies’ best game in quite sometime. Benjamin Pavard was very solid as well, but did lose possession more than I like.
• Davies was electric, but like Pavard lost possession 19 times. In this match, it was a fair trade-off for what he brought to the table offensively.
• The center-back duo of Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano was not terrible by any means, but it was not as fluid as it was in previous games.
• Aside of Mané’s “off day”, the rest of the Bayern Munich attack was very solid. If Serge Gnabry can get this end product sorted out, he is going to be a dangerous weapon moving forward. Musiala was not quite at his “A-Game” was he was still extremely dangerous and disruptive.
• With so many players injured and/or recovering, Nagelsmann had his hands tied a bit, but Mané should not have started. The manager has to be better at recognizing that.
• You have to commend the spirit of FC Augsburg. Sure, they made physical and mental mistakes, but they fought like hell — which made the game extremely enjoyable to watch.
• Overall, this was a match where Bayern Munich came out a little flat and needed to get punched in the face before it woke up. FC Augsburg was more than willing to land that first haymaker, but soon buckled under the relentless jabbing from the Rekordmeister. This was a good reminder for Bayern Munich that there are no easy matches and while that might sound cliché, the days of unexpected Bundesliga draws and losses are not that far removed. Hopefully, the lesson will start to sink in soon enough.

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

Bosz to Wolves? (@cfbayern)

Peter Bosz could land himself another coaching gig as Wolverhampton is rumored to be interested in the Dutchman:

Gakpo almost made move to United (@FabrizioRomano)

Rumored Bayern Munich target Cody Gakpo almost made the move from PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United:

You have to wonder if Manchester United will look to build more around the types of players that Ten Hag wants — and if that interest in Gakpo could be renewed.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 16 (Bavarian Football Works)

So Bayern Munich just won 5-0 against a team that were, coming into the game, above them in the table. In beating Christian Streich’s SC Freiburg, Julian Nagelsmann has capped off one of the most impressive performances of the season so far. Meanwhile, a certain someone who agitated a move to FC Barcelona is staring the Europa League in the face, and coming off a defeat in his inaugural Clasico. The two FCBs contrasting fortunes make for good discussion fodder this week.

In this episode, INNN and Samrin discuss:

• Did the presence of a target man in Choupo-Moting make the difference for Bayern?
• Leroy Sane’s new role that demolished SC Freiburg.
• Why chance conversion seems like the major issue at Bayern this season.
• A debate over how Bayern Munich control games and manage the tempo after taking the lead.
• Our headline topic: Does Robert Lewandowski regret moving to FC Barcelona?
• How Lewy’s move could end up backfiring on him.
• Who could start for Bayern Munich against Augsburg? Who should start?
• Benjamin Pavard vs Noussair Mazraoui — who looks better?
• How Julian Nagelsmann needs to balance minutes with games vs Hoffenheim and Barcelona coming up and the cramped fixture list.
• Finishing off with a final prediction for the game from INNN.

Pep wants to keep Gundo (Fichajes)

Pep Guardiola wants to keep Germany international İlkay Gündoğan at Manchester City for at least another two seasons:

In the ranks of Manchester City , the midfielder remains linked to the Sky Blues until 2023. His continuity is a priority for his coach Pep Guardiola, superlative leader (from the bench) of the current Premier League champion’s project . And the last hour of Gündogan is provided by the journalist Nicolò Schira.

Namely, the City intends to make an effort with the intention of stopping the hypothetical flight of the international with Germany. Moreover, the aforementioned source speaks of an ongoing management in the offices of the Etihad Stadium to shield the former Borussia Dortmund player. His mission is clear: to prolong Gündogan’s journey in England for two more campaigns (2025).

Gündogan’s role with Manchester City might be as a reserve, but Hansi Flick could envision a larger role for the 31-year-old with Germany at the World Cup. Flick could have to decide between Gündogan and Leon Goretzka for a starting role — which might not be easy.

ICYMI: Schalke sacks Kramer (@s04)

Schalke 04 parted ways with manager Frank Kramer:

WTF (@BrendenDeeg_)

I saw this on Tuesday...and it took me a few days to process. As you can imagine, I am thoroughly enjoying just how awful this is. Do we have any BFWers, who are Padres fans in San Diego? If so, we need an explanation:

As you can imagine...as a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I really enjoyed this (but not yesterday’s result so much...Go Phils!).

What an idea! (@Troll__Football)

I can only imagine the kind of damage Tommy Adams would do with this: