Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Viktoria Köln; Transfer news on RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, FC Augsburg’s Ricardo Pepi, & FC Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest, and Inter Milan’s Robin Gosens; Saša Kalajdžić completes Wolves move; + MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 5-0 win over Viktoria Köln (Bavarian Football Works)

As expected, Bayern Munich rolled Viktoria Köln in the DFB-Pokal in a match where Julian Nagelsmann got a chance to distribute minutes to some of the squad’s lesser-used players. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Nagelsmann’s starting lineup was, indeed, different, but the results were the same:

• Bayern Munich was very choppy in the first few minutes. You can tell there was a heavy rotation on.
• Viktoria Köln was scrappy and there to play from the outset.
• At the 11:55 mark of the first half there was a guy taking a drag of a cigarette in the crowd. It seems so foreign these days to see that at a sporting event to see a dude just nailing a heater in the stands.
• The pitch was definitely slick early in the match as well, which probably contributed to some of Bayern Munich’s early problems. Bavarian Grass Works rated the turf a 8/10 on the slickness scale.
• Both Mathys Tel (who had his hand wrapped — what is with all of the hand injuries at Bayern these days?) and Thomas Müller had good chances in the 16th minute, while Serge Gnabry also had a great opportunity minutes later.
• Bayern Munich caught a huge break when a goal was ruled offside in the 20th minute for Viktoria Köln.
• From that point, Bayern Munich seemed to have a wake-up call to get going.
• Olaf Janßen and Carlo Ancelotti look like they could be long lost brothers.
• Bayern Munich had long stretches of possession in the final third in the first half. It felt like at some point, Viktoria Köln would wear down — and they would.
• Viktoria Köln goalkeeper Ben Voll had a MONSTER of a first half. What a performance!
• The dude getting sold out by his boy for a high-five at the 31:20 mark after catching the ball on the ESPN+ feed that went out bounds was classic. Give me more of that!
• Finally, after Voll put on a Superman performance, Ryan Gravenberch let a loose ball ride through and slotted home a left-footed shot in the 35th minute.
• Just before halftime Gravenberch found Tel, who cut in into his right foot and whipped in a shot for a 2-0 lead. It was an extremely aesthetic play.
• In the 54th minute, Serge Gnabry was totally unselfish and fed Sadio Mané for his first DFB-Pokal goal and 3-0 lead.
• Jamal Musiala made it 4-0 in the 67th minute.
• Courtesy of our guy Phillip Quinn, a 17-year-old, a 19-year-old, and a 20-year-old were three of the four goal scorers at this point for Bayern Munich.
• Hey, hey! Leon Goretzka and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting made their returns.
• Even late in the game, Voll made huge save after huge save. That’s a “Jersey Swap” if I have ever seen one.
• For good measure, Leon Goretzka added one more goal and it was a beauty.
• It was really nice to see Sven Ulreich pick up a clean sheet.
• Overall, this went as expected — except maybe Viktoria Köln had a little more talent and fight than anyone gave them credit for. Regardless, Bayern Munich took care of business and advanced.

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

Philadelphia invades Europe (PhiladelphiaUnion.com)

No, I am not rollicking around Sweden with Marcus, but the Philadelphia Union’s U-15 squad played a friendly against Bayern Munich’s U-14 team and things did not go well for the Germans:

Taking a page from the first team playbook, Philadelphia Union Academy’s U15 outpressed and turned defense into offense as they defeated Bundesliga-side Bayern Munich’s U14 side, 6-0!

Playing three periods of 30 minutes each, the Union Academy led 1-0 after Anisse Saidi finished off a scramble in the Bayern box after a Union corner kick. The Boys in Blue took over in the second period, outscoring the German side by three via a penalty kick finish from Peyton Presson. Immediately after the goal the Union press forced a turnover with Saidi sending a back-post cross that was finished off by Kellan LeBlanc.

Lewis Daley notched his first of two goals late in the second period, finishing of a play that was set up by teammate Peyton Presson. Up by four goals, the Union kept pushing and were rewarded with a pair of spectacular goals from Gunnar Graham and then Daley’s second of the afternoon.

The U15s conclude their preseason in Europe on Friday with a battle against F.C. Südtirol. Kick off is set for 9 a.m. ET and will be streamed on PhiladelphiaUnion.com.

It should be noted that the one-year age difference can be huge in developing teens, so if you think Bayern Munich needs to start recruiting, you can probably rest easy. Also, the Philadelphia Union might have has the best development academy in the United States right now.

There is no word on whether Brazzo perched in a tree with a set of binoculars in one hand and a PowerPoint deck printed and prepared in the other...just in case.

Closing time (Goal)

The transfer window closes today, here is how it breaks down for the Top 5 European leagues:

• Premier League: 11:00pm BST
• La Liga: 10:59pm local time
• Serie A: 5:00pm local time
• Bundesliga: 5:00pm local time
• Ligue 1: 11:59pm local time

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 9 (Bavarian Football Works)

In this flagship episode of Bavarian Podcast Works, Tom and Schnitzel cover the following topics:

• Yann Sommer’s Bundesliga saves record masterclass.
• Bayern’s prospects in their Champions League group.
• Sadio Mane’s knack for goals being ruled out.
• Brazzo’s summer and incoming contract extension as sporting director.
• Julian Nagelsmann’s mid-match tactical switches and rotations.
• Bayern’s upcoming English Weeks.
• Manuel Neuer housing a banana mid-match at VfL Bochum.
• Tom’s brilliant European football impersonations.

ICYMI: Chelsea hawking Gvardiol (@cfbayern)

You might have missed this, but Chelsea FC seems to want RB Leipzig center-back Josko Gvardiol pretty badly, but Die Roten Bullen are reluctant to let him go:

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea submitted an offer for €90 million on Gvardiol:

Gvardiol is now in negotiations with Leipzig for a new deal:

Gosens to Leverkusen fails (Sport1)

For those hoping to see Germany international Robin Gosens move to Bayer Leverkusen ahead of this winter’s World Cup, the move seem to be dead:

Bayer also showed interest, but in the end the deal fell through, mainly due to Gosens’ current club Inter Milan.

“There is no offer from Bayer and there is no intention to buy him,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger on Wednesday.

A possible purchase of the left winger was one of the decisive points for the failure of the transfer: While Leverkusen wanted to loan the 28-year-old without any further obligations, Inter are said to have insisted on a purchase obligation after the loan deal had been completed. In addition, Bayer would only have signed Gosens if a buyer for Dutchman Mitchel Bakker had been found at the same time.

The left-back should have gone to Milan for Gosens in return, but the swap deal didn’t materialize. Gosens only switched from Atalanta Bergamo to Inter in January; officially he is still on loan until the end of the season. Playing in the Bundesliga was always a dream for the native of Emmerich, who had only played professionally in the Netherlands before coming to Italy. In order to gain match practice with a view to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, he himself gave the go-ahead for a move to Leverkusen.

Kalajdžić leaves Stuttgart (@VfB)

Saša Kalajdžić has officially left VfB Stuttgart for Wolverhampton:

Kalajdžić is a very interesting figure. As of now, he appears to be living off of having a tremendous 2020/21 season, but has not exactly done much since except battle injuries.

Surely, the potential is there with Kalajdžić, but the expectations on the Austrian might outweigh what he is ready to offer the Wolves.

Dest on the move? He sure was (@FabrizioRomano)

Early in the day on Wednesday, FC Barcelona defender and USMNT star Sergiño Dest was thought to be on the move to Villarreal:

Manchester United, though, was later ruled out as a destination:

AC Milan jumped into the fray as well:

And then AC Milan sealed the deal:

Pepi leaves Augsburg on loan (@FabrizioRomano)

FC Augsburg’s big expenditure on USMNT hopeful Ricardo Pepi has not worked out and now the 19-year-old is off to Arjen Robben’s old club to try and get his career back on track:

The bad part of this story is that FC Augsburg made a big splash in getting Pepi and situations like this might make the club more reluctant to splurge in the future.

Draxler to Benfica (@FabrizioRomano)

Julian Draxler is finally out of Purgatory Saint-Germain and will be headed to Benfica:

Weigl to Gladbach (@Plettigoal)

Julian Draxler might have moved to Benfica, but Julian Weigl won’t be there — he’s headed to Gladbach: