Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller draws ire of FC Barcelona squad; Bayern “desperate” to sign Gavi?; Bayern’s best transfers in the last 20 years; Ronald Araújo prepping to shutdown Bayern; Noussair Mazraoui news; and MORE!

Barca out for revenge...angry with Müller (Barca Universal)

To no one’s surprise, FC Barcelona is out for revenge against Bayern Munich in the Champions League later today.

What might be shocking is that Thomas Müller may have gotten under the skin of the FC Barcelona players and now could be firmly in their crosshairs ahead of the vital Champions League match between the two clubs:

As per a report by Javi Miguel of AS, an undisclosed member from Xavi’s staff described the mood within the dressing room by saying, “There is a lot of desire for this match in the locker room; the technicians have been preparing it for several weeks and the motivation of the players is total.”

Intriguingly, it is revealed that ‘arrogant’ statements made by those within the Bayern dressing room about the club each time both teams have met have not been forgotten.

Thomas Muller, who tends to do so in the build-up to such games, is understood to cause ‘special animosity’ within the Catalan dressing room.

Will that “special animosity” result in any late challenges or overly-physical play? All eyes will be watching that closely.

Araújo ready for Bayern assignment (@iMiaSanMia)

FC Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo is eager to face Bayern Munich and thinks his squad is raring to go.

“This competition is difficult, we’re playing against great opponents and Bayern is one of them. We are working well, we have to go into the game with humility and we have to show that we are also a great team,” said Araújo. “We’ve been conceding few goals and knowing the quality we have up front, we know we can score. Tomorrow we will try to do the same, against great strikers, but I think we are doing well and hope to keep a clean sheet.”

One thing that will be different for Araújo this time around will be that Robert Lewandowski has switched sides. Still, Araújo knows Bayern Munich’s attack is dangerous even without the Polish Hitman.

“We all know the quality that Lewandowski has, we suffered a lot from him and now we are happy that he can help us,” said Araújo. “I prepare myself as always, analyzing the opposing strikers, watching their habits, which foot they like to use...a bit of that.”

Bayern “desperate” to ink Gavi? (Barca Universal)

Barca Universal captured a report from Mundo Deportivo, which stated that Bayern Munich was ”desperate” to ink Gavi over the summer:

Gavi, who turned 18 on August 5, is waiting to put pen to a new deal. As reported by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, it is going to be an important week for the young midfielder as Barcelona are planning to formalize his contract extension until 2026 before the month of October.

As of today, the Sevilla-born midfielder is only waiting for a date to sign his contract.

It was understood that during the summer transfer window, as Barcelona tried to push for Robert Lewandowski, Bayern tried getting hands on Gavi. Apart from the Bavarians, Liverpool as well as Paris Saint-Germain were said to be the reported interested parties.

The week marks an important tenure for the 18-year-old, as apart from the possible contract extension, he is also set to face one of his suitors, Bayern Munich, in the Champions League.

I never got the impression that Bayern Munich was “desperate” to sign Gavi, but were more likely just kicking the tires to see what the cost might be. It would not be shocking to see that Bayern Munich even still wants Gavi, but the midfield situation in Bavaria is far from “desperate.”

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up — Season 5, Episode 10 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich pulled out a nice victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League after a disappointing showing against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga last weekend.

While Julian Nagelsmann has done a good job of managing his personnel, the recent lack of precision, efficiency, and synchronicity on offense has some fans mildly concerned.

Like always, there is plenty to talk about — including those issues listed above. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this week’s episode:

• Why coaching is getting more difficult every year (as Thomas Tuchel and Domenico Tedesco found out — and as Jürgen Klopp might soon learn). Also, did we mention there are some unhappy players at Bayern Munich now?
• The FC Barcelona match is going to tell us a lot about where Bayern Munich is at this stage.
• Matthijs de Ligt and Lucas Hernandez look great together.
• The midfield conundrum...Leon Goretzka wants to start, but Marcel Sabitzer has been great? What will happen there.
• Bayern Munich and Harry Kane might really be interested in forging a relationship in 2023.

Stupid farmers are ruining Europe (@WhoScored)

Imaging thinking Robert Lewandowski was only good because he played against “inferior competition” in the Bundesliga:

Mazraoui among Bayern players recognized for efforts (@SofaScoreINT)

Noussair Mazraoui was widely lauded for his effort against VfB Stuttgart:

I probably fall more in line with SofaScore than WhoScored this week. Alphonso Davies did a lot of good things, but was also sloppy at times as well. As for Musiala, he had a tremendous goal, but his lack of hustle in tracking back after losing a ball led to a VfB Stuttgart goal:

Bayern’s best transfer in the last 20 years per KHR (@dw_sports)

Bayern Munich club legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge listed out his idea for Bayern Munich’s best transfers in the last 20 years:

Do you agree?

Bavarian Podcast Works Season 5, Episode 11: What’s wrong with Bayern Munich lately? + FC Barcelona preview (Bavarian Football Works)

We’re more than a month into the season and Bayern Munich have drawn three games in a row. Granted those games were only in the Bundesliga, and were punctuated by wins against Viktoria Koln in the Pokal and Inter Milan in the Champions League, but it’s still a poor return for a team searching for its eleventh consecutive title. Now, Bayern face the prospect of reuniting with Robert Lewandowski in midweek, when FC Barcelona come to visit. Plenty to talk about.

In this episode, INNN, Samrin, and Marcus discuss:

• What’s behind Bayern’s awful recent form?
• The problem with the offense at the moment — finishing, chance creation, or the lack of an actual striker?
• How do we solve the frontline problem before facing FC Barcelona?
• Moving onto the preview for the Barca game — what kind of coach is Xavi?
• How Barcelona could line up and our impressions on their team.
• Aside from Robert Lewandowski, who is the danger-man on their side? Dembele, Pedri, Gavi, and more.
• How Xavi might set up his midfield to neutralize Thomas Muller.
• Will the fact that Barcelona set up offensively help Bayern Munich attack?
• How will Bayern stop the Barca attack? Should Matthijs de Ligt or Dayot Upamecano start?
• Should Nagelsmann give Goretzka another chance, or stick with Marcel Sabitzer?
• Marcus makes a futile attempt to argue that Gnabry should start ahead of Jamal Musiala in attack. Is he successful?
• Can we still trust in Julian Nagelsmann if he loses to Barca in midweek?