Bayern Munich got another late winner from Joshua Zirkzee to beat Wolfsburg 2-0 in the last match of the year.
In the last match of the hinrunde, Bayern Munich barely escaped against Wolfsburg to remain third in the Bundesliga table. The Bavarians largely looked toothless in attack as the Wolfsburg defense remained solid and compact throughout the match.
Bayern won the match late after teenager Joshua Zirkzee poked in a pass from Thomas Muller in the 85th minute. As Wolfsburg started to stretch more to try to tie the match, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry were able to get in behind the defense after a long pass from Muller. Lewandowski headed the ball into the path of Gnabry and he put it past the goalkeeper in the 89th minute.
The performance was not convincing from the defending champions, but the result will help them to further build their confidence. Winning three games in a row will allow them to go in the winter break with a positive. Moreover, winning games when they are not at their best is the hallmark of champions. The wins against Wolfsburg and Freiburg further showed Bayern’s resilence. Apart from their resilience, there were many other takeaways from their win against Wolfsburg.
The winter break comes at the right time for Bayern
Bayern ended the Hinrunde in third place in the Bundesliga table, and the break could not have come at a better time. It was fairly evident in this match that the team is tired. Several injuries have severely limited the squad, so proper rotation has been lacking, and the bench has been primarily youth team players.
Having youth players in the squad isn’t a bad thing, but when the coach can’t make substitutions because of a lack of experienced first-team players, issues arise. The break will allow the team to rest for a while before returning for a mini-camp and then the Ruckrunde.
Players such as Corentin Tolisso, Leon Goretzka, Kingsley Coman, and Javi Martinez can use the break to recover from their injuries and rejoin the squad at full health without being rushed back. Another aspect to the break is it will allow the board to either sign manager Hansi Flick for the rest of the season or go in another direction. Either way, a plan will be put in place for the spring of 2020.
A stagnating attack
This opinion comes down to the fact that Die Roten are decimated on the injury front. Bayern had to use both Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho as center midfielders/attacking midfielders, and both players had trouble using their skills to their advantage.
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It was also telling how poor they played since the defense was focused on stopping Robert Lewandowski and still, neither player could offer much. Serge Gnabry was the only attacking player that was causing problems to Wolfsburg’s defense. Since Bayern didn’t have experience on the bench, a switch didn’t happen until late in the match.
Joshua Zirkzee came on for Coutinho and from that moment, the offense opened up. Muller was able to find more space in the final third with Zirkzee making runs into the box, resulting in the first goal. It’s interesting to think about what would have happened, had that change occurred earlier.
Joshua Zirkzee has arrived
It has been several years since a Bayern academy player has made the jump to the first team and had a real impact. Enter the Dutch forward, Joshua Zirkzee. In his last two Bundesliga matches, Zirkzee has come on at the end of the match and scored the winning goal both times.
The winter break will allow the Dutchman to continue training with the first team, and hopefully get more minutes in matches. To go along with Zirkzee, Flick also handed Leon Dajaku his first appearance at the end of the match. In the last month, Flick has given debuts to Dajaku, Zirkzee, and Sarpreet Singh. The only youth players called up that haven’t received minutes are Lars Lukas Mai and Oliver Batista Meier.
This has been a welcome sight, seeing these youth players get chances in the senior squad. Zirkzee has made the most of it. Hopefully, the other will get more minutes and can be relied upon by Flick even when all the first-choice attacking players return from injuries.
Reinforcements are a must
The winter transfer window is always tricky to navigate through as squads need reinforcing. However, they will increase prices because of the time of the transfer. In my opinion, this shouldn’t stop Bayern from reinforcing this window.
The board doesn’t have to go after Leroy Sane next month, but an addition to the defense should be a priority. For one, Joshua Kimmich should move to midfield, allowing someone else to play in the right-back position. Benjamin Pavard should remain a center back, so someone should be brought in to fill the vacant right-back position.
Secondly, Bayern doesn’t have the luxury of waiting to make a Champions League push as several squad players aren’t getting younger. Players such as Muller, Lewandowski, and Manuel Neuer are running out of time to win a European title, so for Bayern, the time is now to go all-in on a European title push. This means bringing reinforcements to improve the squad. Apart from improving the squad, new signings will also help loosen the burden on the players coming back from injury.