Leon Goretzka praises Bayern Munich’s patience in 3-1 win over Augsburg

They made hard work of it, but in the end, Bayern Munich did enough to get past FC Augsburg at home, coming away 3-1 winners thanks to a Harry Kane brace and an own goal from Augsburg’s Felix Uduokhai. There was a huge stroke of luck on the own goal from Augsburg, but it was no less than what Bayern deserved after a lovely bit of buildup play from Serge Gnabry to find Leroy Sané in space, and it was the deflected rebound from the latter’s shot that hit off of Uduokhai and rolled into the back of Finn Dahmen’s net.

The own goal forced Augsburg out of their resolute, compact shell a bit more than they were used to in the opening half hour of proceedings, which helped create more chances for Bayern. Harry Kane dispatched a spot kick after Joshua Kimmich’s attempt in the 39th minute was adjudged to have struck an arm in the penalty area and it was Kane again who took a fine finish at the 69th minute after being found in space by Alphonso Davies.

Dion Beljo’s goal in the 86th minute proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal for Augsburg, but they did show plenty of fight and grit despite what the scoreline suggested in the end. They really made Bayern work and show their patience for spaces and chances to open up.

After the final whistle, it was Bayern’s level of patience and determination that was applauded by Leon Goretzka, who was once again favored in the starting lineup by Thomas Tuchel over Konrad Laimer. “We knew that today would not be a nice game. Augsburg play unpleasant and very unorthodox football. It was clear from the first half that it was going to be very tough. It certainly was not pleasant for the spectators. But we stayed patient and got rewarded in the end,” Goretzka said to DAZN after the match (via @iMiaSanMia).

Credit had to be given to the tactical approach Enrico Maaßen put forth, trying to stifle and frustrate Bayern, but once that first goal is conceded, it’s a calculated risk trying to get something to take away from the Allianz Arena. Once the proverbial levee broke, Bayern was always going to start to get more chances, and had it not been for a decent save by Dahmen midway through the first half, Goretzka could have been on the score sheet himself.

Interested in a more in-depth review of the game? How did each player fare, and what is going on with Benjamin Pavard? We talk about all that and more in our newest podcast episode! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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