Serge Gnabry is confident that Bayern Munich is on the right track and remain in the hunt for the Bundesliga title.
Bayern Munich ended the year on a high note after clinching a narrow 2-0 victory against Wolfsburg. The defending champions struggled to break Wolfsburg’s defense for 80 minutes. Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench and made an immediate impact to hand Bayern their third league win a row.
Die Roten had a testing week as they had to work hard to win away at Freiburg on Wednesday. Zirkzee was also the hero against Freiburg as he scored the second goal in the dying minutes of the game.
These two wins have allowed Bayern to climb up in the table and end the first half of the table in the third position. Rekordmeister remains four points behind RB Leipzig, the league leaders, and two points behind second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach.
Serge Gnabry found the back of the net against Freiburg and Wolfsburg. Speaking to media (via Bundesliga.com) on Saturday, Gnabry insisted that Bayern had a strong first half of the season, and they remain firmly in contention to retain their title.
"“We had a strong first half of the season.”“Obviously the losses against Gladbach and Leverkusen put us behind, but I think apart from that we’ve played good football and, in the last couple of games, showed character to come back. I think the title race is still open.”"
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical Takeaways from 4-3 win against Manchester United
- Bayern Munich 4-3 Manchester United: Player Ratings
- Bayern Munich: Thomas Tuchel sets next challenge for Jamal Musiala
- Bayern Munich: Top performers from eventful win against Manchester United
- Mathys Tel pleased with development at Bayern Munich
For the second consecutive season, Bayern Munich finds themselves trailing in the title race before Christmas. The Bavarians were nine points behind Borussia Dortmund last season at the same stage. They managed to reduce the gap in the second half of the season and clinch the title in the final game week of the Bundesliga.
This season the lead at the top is lesser than last year. Bayern just needs a long winning run to eat up this lead and regain the top spot in the table. There have been encouraging signs under Hansi Flick in the past couple of seasons, so the club has decided to stick with him till the end of the season.
The winter break comes at the right time for Flick and Bayern. They have been inconsistent in all departments due to the form of certain players and injuries to key players. This break will allow them to work on their weaknesses and provide time for injured players to work on their fitness.
I still feel in the long run, Bayern will turn out to be too good for RB Leipzig and Gladbach. With their batteries recharged during the break, Die Roten will extend their winning run in the Bundesliga. The only way I think Bayern will struggle to retain their title will be complacency and injuries.