Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan; BVB’s Youssoufa Moukoko to Liverpool?; Just how close is Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola to Kevin De Bruyne; Jurgen Klopp’s job is safe; Mané, Choupo-Moting honored; & MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 2-0 victory over Inter (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich capped off its Champions League group stage matches with a convincing 2-0 victory over a confused and somewhat tentative Inter Milan side, who just had no answers for anything.

The fact that Bayern Munich only scored two goals had more to do with some uneven play from the home side than anything that the visitors were doing to slow down the Bavarians.

Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• The starting lineup featured a heavy rotation — as expected:

• Benjamin Pavard’s grumpiness over not getting to play center-back — and finding himself on the bench of late — seemed to go to the wayside for this match. Youngsters Josip Stanišić and Ryan Gravenberch also got some extended run, which was good to see. Marcel Sabitzer getting the nod was a nice touch as well.
• Paul Wanner and Mathys Tel each got called upon to pick up some sub minutes. I would have preferred that Julian Nagelsmann leave Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, and Serge Gnabry on the bench for the entire match, but the boss man called them all in to play as well.
• Wanner seems to have a great attacking mindset and is very composed. It really does seem like Bayern Munich might have something special with him...but will he get a chance to shine?
• The game started out choppy. There was an odd mix of players, but even with things not looking overly great, Bayern Munich was clearly superior (which sounds kind of weird because Inter Milan is not terrible).
• Truthfully, Inter Milan played like the game meant nothing at times (which, of course, was the truth).
• Pavard is a legitimate scoring threat and did it once again to give the Bavarians a first half lead with his goal in the 32nd minute. If Inter Milan was uninterested in the match before that goal, it certainly did not get any more engaged after the tally.
• Pavard was great once again.

• While it was not the cleanest effort from Bayern Munich, it was hard to find much to criticize. If anything, the forwards seemed complacent at times and failed to make those hard, dynamic runs into the box. Joshua Kimmich, who was pretty awesome on the day, tried to ramp up the creativity with some beautifully chipped balls, but it was not the most stellar effort from the attacking group.
• Sabitzer, who picked up another yellow card and will be out for the next UCL game, and Stanišić acquitted themselves nicely, while I felt like Gravenberch wasn’t great playing in a more attacking role.
• Speaking of not great, Sadio Mané was average to below average. This is the kind of game where I would have rested him, though. He had nothing to gain from this match.
• I mean...you can’t do a whole hell of a lot better than this:

• Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting spent most of the match looking like the heavy amount of playing time had caught up to him, then ripped off a highlight goal (and an even better disallowed goal) in his final minutes. Choupo wasn’t bad by any means, though. Don’t get it wrong, Choupo dug deep when he needed to.
• Overall, Bayern Munich was just solid and steady. The squad took care of business and was convincing. That’s about all you could have asked for from that game.

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

Moukoko to LFC? (Football Insider via 90Min.com)

Jürgen Klopp might be looking to his old club — Borussia Dortmund — for some talent to put atop his formation. Liverpool is reportedly interested in BVB striker Youssoufa Moukoko:

Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko will join an English-based agency next month, boosting speculation of a move to the Premier League. Liverpool are chasing the teenager, whose contract is up in the summer. (Football Insider)

Liverpool might be getting desperate for something — anything — to help get it going and Moukoko has reportedly kicked around the idea of leaving Dortmund. It could make sense (I guess).

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 17 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich had another strong week in dispatching both Hoffenheim and FC Barcelona (LOL) and the squad looks — dare I say — very good.

Julian Nagelsmann is pushing all of the right buttons and the boys are responding, so there is plenty to talk about with that subject alone...but we’ve got even more! This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at Bayern Munich’s ever-improving form.
• The emergence of Matthijs de Ligt as a force to be reckoned with on the backline.
• Why the move back to a 4-2-3-1 seems inevitable.
• Does Robert Lewandowski regret his move to FC Barcelona?
• İlkay Gündoğan to Bayern Munich? Nah...that can’t be happening can it?
• A look at the House of the Dragon season finale and why reading the books might have made it painful for some.

Choupo, Mané recognized for efforts (@WhoScored)

Sadio Mané and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting performed well enough to make WhoScored.com’s Bundesliga Team of the Week:

Pep closer to Ribéry than De Bruyne? (@ESPNUK)

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had a weird way of saying that he understands everything about Kevin De Bruyne’s game:

But...is Guardiola actually closer to Ribéry than he is with De Bruyne? The video says yes (emphatically):

Klopp is not in danger of losing his gig (@Plettigoal)

Jurgen Klopp might want to bring Youssoufa Moukoko and Son Heung-min to help keep his status in “safe mode.” There was some speculation that Klopp might be in danger, but that does not appear to be the case (at least according to Sky’s Florian Plettenberg):

This is pretty cool (YouTube — CBS Sports Golazo)

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show — Season 5, Episode 18 (Bavarian Football Works)

As the World Cup gets closer, Bayern Munich are starting to suffer from more and more minor injuries in every game. In the most recent win over Mainz, Matthijs de Ligt had to be subbed off as a precaution due to a presumed muscular issue. With complaints about rotation commonly levied at Julian Nagelsmann throughout the season, it seems like the upcoming Champions League game vs Inter Milan may end up becoming the moment of truth for the coach and his rotation policy.

In this episode, INNN and Tom discuss:

• Has Nagelsmann been rotating enough so far this season?
• Why the coach seems to be more static with the personnel he trusts to start.
• Friction with Ryan Gravenberch and Benjamin Pavard and future dressing room issues.
• Why the upcoming World Cup makes player injuries more difficult to manage.
• A looming issue with Manuel Neuer and his shoulder.
• Why Thomas Muller has been getting injured more often this season.
• Moving onto the Inter Milan game — what does the match mean for Inter and Simone Inzaghi?
• How should Julian Nagelsmann tackle the game? Is winning a prerogative?
• Which players should be rotated in/out?
• The problem with Alphonso Davies having to play way too many games.
• A final prediction from Tom on the scoreline.