Julian Nagelsmann speaks on Bayern Munich’s performance against VfL Wolfsburg, Serge Gnabry’s substitution and praises Jamal Musiala

After Bayern Munich’s 2-0 victory against former Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovač’s VfL Wolfsburg, coach Julian Nagelsmann faced the press at the Allianz Arena.

Nagelsmann expressed his unhappiness with the team’s performance in the first 15 minutes, when it became obvious that Bayern were trying to find their footing. He highlighted the major problems to be that of the pressing getting bypassed. “Then we had a very good phase and deservedly took the lead,” he said, describing the events that transpired till the end of the first half.

The second half was a rather quiet outing for the Bavarians, who looked visibly tired, though not error-prone or out-of-sync. Nagelsmann cited the second half to be more focused on holding possession and controlling the game, and this certainly was backed by the numbers — Bayern showed a shocking 63% possession statistic at this point in time.

On the mellowed pace of the second half, Nagelsmann further went on to explain that the objective was to avoid conceding goals. Bayern haven’t seen a clean sheet in a while and Nagelsmann believes this has to do with the intent to score more goals. “In the last few games, we conceded a lot of counters because we still wanted to score more goals. Today we wanted more control (in the 2nd half) and kept a clean sheet, which was very important,” he said.

“The second half wasn’t a spectacle, but it was a deserved win,” the coach declared.

On the absence of Joshua Zirkzee, Nagelsmann revealed that the striker was ill and hence couldn’t make it. He also spoke on Serge Gnabry’s half-time substitution, explaining that Gnabry had adductor problems and couldn’t sprint properly and hence had to be taken off the pitch.

Any coach would be lucky to have a player like Jamal Musiala on the pitch. Nagelsmann praised the youngster, citing his humility and willingness to learn and improve. The 35-year-old lauded Musiala for his performances. “It’s always about looking ahead and confirming these performances. I hope he’ll have many other performances like today & score goals,” he said.

Want to hear in-depth analysis of Bayern Munich’s win against Wolfsburg? Check out our postgame podcast: