Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Gladbach; Manchester City’s Erling Haaland headed to Real Madrid in 2024?; Pundit unsure how Ryan Gravenberch fits at Liverpool; Mo Salah could still leave for Saudi Arabia; + MORE

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 2-1 win over Gladbach (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich fell into the trap set by Borussia Mönchengladbach, but did manage to find a way to claw out a very important three points during its 2-1 victory at Borussia Park.

Gladbach played exactly how most expected them to, but its defensive style ultimately created a lot of heavy legs, which eventually developed into a very advantageous situation for the Bavarians in the second half. Let’s not waste any more time, here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s take a look at the lineup:

• Finally, Thomas Tuchel opted to play Harry Kane and Thomas Müller together, which is something many fans have been waiting to see. The duo did not necessarily click on all cylinders, but that had more to do with Gladbach’s compact defensive style than poor performances from the duo.
• The other big decision for Tuchel was with his center-backs. Again, Tuchel opted with Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, which was not altogether shocking, given that the duo has been decent together so far. Otherwise, it was just Serge Gnabry being the odd-man out at wing.
• It was very clear from the outset that Gladbach was going to sit back and just wait and try to make the game a jumbled mess. Die Fohlen were so compact that any imprecision on Bayern Munich’s passing or any touch slightly too big was going to result in a temporary loss of possession or a clearance.
• There would be no unlocking Kane on this day, as the attacking continued its choppy run of play. Some slack can be given, just because of how much of a mess Gladbach made of Bayern Munich’s final third.
• Bayern Munich’s best opportunity early was when Müller fed a cutting Leroy Sané for a quick chance, but even then, Gladbach had a fortified position in front of the goal. Sané’s proactive movement would eventually play a big role in the match.
• The inclination is for many to think Gladbach played cowardly in not really even trying to win the contest, but what was it supposed to do? It was out-gunned and overmatched. Playing a grinding, mucked up defensive style was the only way it had a chance.
• Noussair Mazraoui has a real edge to his game, which is awesome. However, he needs to rein it in just a bit. He could become a real pest to opposing attackers if he can control his emotions a bit more. It seems like Tuchel had the same thoughts as he pulled Mazraoui at halftime after picking up a yellow card in the first half.
• In the 30th minute, Gladbach broke through off of a corner when Kou Itakura perfectly placed a header that took advantage of some terrible marking on the play. Many Bayern Munich fans started to clench up a bit because, well, they had already seen this movie before (several times).
• That goal seemed to throw Bayern Munich deeper into a malaise that zapped their energy until the squad went into the locker room for halftime.
• Kingsley Coman, for all of the good that he can bring to a match, looks lost right now.
• The first half was just very sloppy from Bayern Munich overall.
• Finally, in the 58th minute, Joshua Kimmich chipped a beautiful ball to Sané, who made a terrific run, showed great poise in playing the ball down, and calmly deposited into the back of the net. After all that time, something actually worked in the attack.
• In a lot of ways, this Bayern Munich attack is functioning much like it did in the second half of Julian Nagelsmann’s first season where there was an immense issue with getting the striker (Robert Lewandowski) involved. Now, it is Harry Kane looking around and wondering when he will start to look like the focal point of the offense.
• Laimer had a perfect delivery to Serge Gnabry in the second half, not long after the German entered the match, but he could not convert. That should have given Bayern Munich a deserved lead.
• Laimer actually had a very solid showing at right-back.
• In the 87th minute, it would be another sub, who hit the winner — youngster Mathys Tel. Tel got his head on the end of a great corner delivery from Kimmich and the Bavarians safely punched their ticket to three points.
• Kimmich had to be silently flipping the bird to all of his detractors regarding his set-piece delivery ability.
• As a duo, Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were great again. This was yet another very positive showing from a twosome that not many people wanted to see this season (including Tuchel).
• Overall, the match was...frustrating, but everyone sort of knew that would be the best end result — frustrating > disappointing. Bayern Munich dominated possession and held control of the match, but just could not break through Gladbach’s wall for the majority of the game. In the end, though, getting the three points on the road against a known bogey team was a great thing. This game was a stark reminder that nothing is given in the Bundesliga, but this victory was absolutely earned.

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

Carragher not sure of Gravenberch’s fit at LFC (Sports View)

Jamie Carragher is not so sure the grass will be greener at Liverpool FC than it was at Bayern Munich for Ryan Gravenberch, but it might have been worth a gamble for both sides of the deal anyway.

“It’s interesting where he is going to fit in because I don’t think he’s necessarily this defensive midfield player that I think Liverpool still need,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “Even though they have brought a player in from Germany. I think he’s more of a No 8, he’s box-to-box, he gets forward – and I think that’s why Bayern got rid of him, because Thomas Tuchel didn’t want to play him in that position. He’s a player Jurgen Klopp and the club wanted 12-18 months ago and I’m interested to see where he fits in and if Klopp thinks he’s going to be that defensive midfield player. He’s young, has good pedigree – having played for Ajax and Bayern – and, to be fair, the fee is not that expensive.”

Upamecano’s apartment burglarized in France (Get French Football News)

Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano’s apartment was broken into per a report from Le Parisien:

Le Parisien report this morning that two men (17 & 23) have been arrested over their alleged involvement in a burglary that took place at Dayot Upamecano’s apartment in Neuilly-sur-Seine on the 26th of July.

The French international isn’t the first player who owns property in the Île-de-France region to be targeted by burglary, with Gianluigi Donnarumma and his girlfriend the victims of a home invasion back in July. Despite the arrest of the two suspects alleged to be involved with the burglary, three people broke into the Bayern Munich defender’s house and a fourth person waited outside.

The centre-back wasn’t in the apartment at the time of the burglary, with his mother and brother the regular occupants of the property. Upamecano’s mother woke up at 4am to strange noises and three men in hoodies wearing gloves. The three men stole several phones, bankcards and luxury watches – possessions belonging to Upamecano’s brother. The car that the criminals fled the scene in was also linked to two other robberies in the 5th Arrondissement of Paris.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 3, Episode 8 (Bavarian Football Works)

So the Champions League draw is official aaaaand ... Bayern Munich will face Manchester United and two others in the 2023 group stage. Okay, that’s being unfair to Copenhagen and Galatasaray, but that really is the first thing you think when you see a group like this.

Beyond that there is the news that João Palinha is on his way over from Fulham (transfer pending) and to finance the deal, Benjamin Pavard is headed to Inter Milan (confirmed) and Ryan Gravenberch is on the verge of a move to Liverpool FC (less than confirmed). Given the 40 minute Zoom time limit for meetings, we had to rush to fit all the topics in this time:

• What can Bayern Munich expect in the Champions League group stages this year?
• Do we expect any threat from Man United?
• How many Bundesliga teams will make it to the next round of the UCL?
• Is João Palinha really on his way to Bayern Munich ... and for HOW MUCH?
• Why Ryan Gravenberch never worked out for this club.
• The final word on the Benjamin Pavard deal and the implications of not getting a replacement.
• Can Christoph Freund be the guy to turn around Bayern’s failing youth system?

LFC to get massive bid on Salah as Saudi window is still open (Daily Mail via 90Min.com)

Liverpool has been reluctant to sell off Mo Salah (even though it has been rumored he would be open to a move).

Now, though, Al Ittihad could be preparing an offer north of €233 million that could cause Liverpool FC to at least pause for a bit before rejecting it:

Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad will make a fresh £200m offer to Liverpool for Mohamed Salah prior to the closure of their transfer window later in September.

Say what you want about the Saudis (and there is surely a lot to say about what is going on), but they are throwing around so much cash that it is becoming hard for other clubs to ignore any longer.

That type of money is changing the football landscape in a drastic way. Something is going to have to change soon...or the game will not look the same in five years across Europe.

Haaland’s agent responds to Madrid links (90Min.com)

Manchester City star Erling Haaland is always going to be a wanted man. Most recently, those pesky links with Real Madrid have popped back up for the Norwegian.

Haaland’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, was asked by Spanish outlet El Chiringuito about her client potentially moving to Spain next summer...and she did not exactly throw cold water on the claims:

“The open door can mean a lot of things. Our players can have the feeling that they have their destiny in their hands,” she said.

Pimenta has previously insisted that the insertion of various clauses into Haaland’s contract is part of a strategy to help protect her clients.

“When a player goes to a club, I do all I can to create a situation where the key is in their hands,” Pimenta said earlier this year. “If tomorrow you don’t want to be there anymore because you don’t like it, or if they don’t pay you well, or if your wife wants to live in Paris, well, you go, no? I don’t like it when the player has no freedom to decide. I have done all the contracts in this agency in 25 years. All of them. There wasn’t a single time when a player said ‘I want to go’ and they could not do it.

“For me, Haaland is worth a billion, no one is going to pay that, but it’s the potential that he has when he arrives at a club. He brings with him fans, goals, results, professionalism, digital content, notoriety, sponsors...if you put all that together, his value includes a lot of things.

“But the price of a footballer, in reality, is set by a club. I know that no one is going to pay 700m for one player, but it’s very clear that Erling’s value when he arrives at a club is immense, it’s at least a billion.”