Bayern Munich youngsters impress for Germany against Russia
Bayern Munich starlets Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich and Niklas Sule helped a young Germany squad to a dominant win over Russia.
Though it may not seem possible, the German national team has had an even worse year than Bayern Munich. Joachim Low and Co. were knocked out in the group stages of the World Cup and have found it hard to find their footing since.
Although it was only a friendly, their win over Russia today represents a massive step in the right direction. What’s even better, though, is that the win was largely inspired by standout performances from three Bayern youngsters.
Serge Gnabry was the most impressive of Bayern’s trio of young representatives. The 23-year-old started on the right wing of a 3-4-3 in a man of the match worthy performance. His first big contribution to the match came as early as the eighth minute, when he assisted Leroy Sane’s opener.
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After some clever movement, the former Arsenal man broke behind the Russian back line, took a touch and slid the ball across goal for Leroy Sane to bury in the back of the net. That wasn’t Gnabry’s only goal contribution, however.
In the 40th minute, Gnabry made yet another intelligent run in behind the Russian defense, latching on to a fine through ball from 19-year-old Kai Havertz. The Bayern number 22 coolly fired a shot with his left foot from outside of the box, placing it perfectly out of the oncoming keeper’s reach and into the back of the net.
It was a performance well deserving of more playing time, something he’ll likely get after scoring four goals in his first four appearances with Germany.
Joshua Kimmich, meanwhile, put in an excellent display from central midfield. Since the World Cup, Joachim Low has preferred Kimmich as a number six rather than a right-back, and he once again played that role today. Sitting a bit deeper than his midfield partner Kai Havertz, Kimmich controlled the game well and even created a goal from one of his corner kicks.
That’s where Niklas Sule comes in. Wedged between Gnabry’s assist for the opener and goal to make it 3-0 was a somewhat surprising goal from Bayern center-back Niklas Sule. Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger got to the end of a Joshua Kimmich corner, nodding it down directly to the feet of Niklas Sule. Though there was hardly a defender between him and the goal, Sule did well to place his shot perfectly in the bottom right corner, outside of the goalkeeper’s reach.
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Combined with his solid showing as the anchor at the center of Germany’s defense and a deserved clean sheet, Sule’s goal made for a great performance from the German giant. It rounded off a trio of fine displays from Bayern’s young German representatives.