Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich points out the key Bundesliga game that will have a big say in the title race.
The hinrunde ended on a terrific note for Bayern Munich. They had slipped to the seventh position in the league table after consecutive defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach. These defeats made sure that Die Roten don’t finish in the first position at the winter break for the second season in a row.
Hansi Flick’s men recovered quickly from these defeats and clinched three wins in a row against Werder Bremen, Freiburg, and Wolfsburg. The performances were not convincing, but those wins were crucial as they jumped to the third position in the league table, four points behind RB Leipzig.
After a strong end to the year, Bayern announced that Flick is set to manage the first team till summer. The German manager was handed over the reins after Niko Kovac left the club in November due to the team’s poor results.
Serge Gnabry recently admitted that Die Roten are firmly back in the title race. Joshua Kimmich has gone a step ahead and marked an important game in the calendar that could define the quest for title. The German midfielder told Spox (via Bundesliga.com) that Flick has done a fine job since becoming the first team manager.
"“I think Leipzig will continue to pick up points in the Rückrunde – from what I’ve seen, they’ve been dominant. That’s why it’s even more important for us to keep picking up points. We play them at home on 9 February. That’ll be a decisive game.”“It could have been a lot worse for us. The way the coach responded, particularly to setbacks in our last couple of games, was really impressive, and it’s been a lot of fun playing under him.”"
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Die Roten found themselves in a similar position last season as Borussia Dortmund had a big lead at the table going into the winter break. Bayern went on a long winning run in the second half of the season and thrashed Dortmund at Allianz Arena to seal the top position in the league.
Rekordmeister will have to pull off a similar winning run to retain the league title. The only difference this season is that there are many competitors and lead at the top is not as significant as it was last year. Bayern just needs to find some sort of consistency in their performances to get the lead in the title race.
Flick has shown a decent amount of tactical acumen in his brief time as Bayern manager. He still has a lot of scope of improvement in the tactical side of the game. However, there is no doubt about his man-management skills. Kimmich is not the first player to sing praises of Flick since November.
The German manager will be pleased with the timing of the winter break. The players and staff will have time to reflect on their performances in the first half of the season and rectify them during the training camp in Doha.