Bayern Munich demolished TSG Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on matchday 24 at the Rhein Neckar Arena.
Before the protest and stoppage of play, Bayern Munich annihilated the hosts TSG Hoffenheim by an emphatic scoreline of 6-0. The Bavarians blitzed the hosts right from the beginning going up 3-0 within the first 15 minutes, and then throughout the next 60 minutes, three more goals were added. It was an impressive performance from Bayern, who were without their star striker Robert Lewandowski who is out with injury.
The first goal came in the 2nd minute from Serge Gnabry, who received a pin-point cross from Thomas Muller. The German winger deposited the ball in the back of the net after a deflection from the Hoffenheim goalkeeper. Joshua Kimmich added the second in the 7th minute, and then teenager Joshua Zirkzee scored the third in the 15th minute. Philippe Coutinho finally got on the score sheet in the 33rd minute for Bayern’s fourth, and then got his brace right after halftime in the 47th minute. Leon Goretzka came on as a substitute and scored Bayern’s sixth in the 62nd minute.
Bayern were cruising till 75 minutes. The visitors kept on pressing for more goals. However, fan protests against Hoffenheim’s owner Dietmar Hopp forced the referee to stop the game, and players briefly left the field. When the players came back on the pitch, the teams just passed around each other for the last 15 minutes of the match.
This could potentially be very problematic as the match had to be stopped, and fans of Bayern should expect some sort of repercussions for the ultras’ actions. Bayern present themselves as a team of class and dignity, and this demonstration by the away fans will leave a black mark on the club. Hopefully, this will be resolved quickly, and no points will be taken away from the team. Here are four takeaways from the match.
Men of the Match
Once again, several players stood out in this match and have earned recognition. First, it comes with great pleasure to talk positively about Philippe Coutinho. The magician was all over the pitch, creating chances for other players, and even adding two goals for himself.
The first goal was from a ball that bounced around in the box and landed at the feet of Coutinho. The Brazilian showed finesse in his shot by curling it past the keeper. His shot was lucky as the ball took a deflection from a defender and went over the goalie. His second goal came from a cross by Thomas Muller. Coutinho met the cross and volleyed the ball past the goalkeeper. For both goals, the team went to celebrate with the Brazilian, and fans could tell how much his teammates wanted this for him.
The second player who played great was once again Thomas Muller. The assist king contributed two more to his tally taking his Bundesliga season total to 16. His ability to unlock defenses is at an elite level, and he is right now one of the most in-form players in Europe. Many people wondered if he would struggle to produce with Lewandowski out, but that wasn’t the case.
The current system allows Muller to create at will. Hansi Flick pulling Muller off the field at the hour mark will give the ‘raumdeuter’ some rest. If he can maintain the level of his recent performances, then Bayern will be serious contenders in Europe later on in the season.
Lastly, it should not go without mentioning Joshua Zirkzee’s performance. The teenager got his first start of the season. His performance today made sure that he will get more chances in the absence of Lewandowski. He is not on par with Lewandowski, but it is easy to tell based on his performance against Hoffenheim that he is learning things from Polish striker.
Zirkzee often came back into midfield to receive the ball and link up with the wingers. His movements and passes seemed reminiscent of Lewandowski’s, and even his goal was a poacher’s goal. While he is young, he showed enough to continue getting minutes. Zirkzee will be a key player for Bayern in the coming month before the main guy returns.
Midweek Match wasn’t an Issue
In previous seasons, anytime Bayern would play a match in the midweek, the following match on the weekend would be problematic for the Bavarians. Whether it was a lack of concentration or just tired legs, the team would play poorly, creating a lack of consistency in their performances.
After last season’s Champions League exit to Liverpool, Bayern didn’t have to play many midweek matches, allowing them to solely focus on the Bundesliga title and the occasional DFB Pokal match. For Bayern hierarchy, players, and fans, this became infuriating, and many people wondered how good these players were, and if they were up to the quality of Bayern Munich.
Since Hansi Flick’s appointment as the interim manager, this hasn’t been a problem. After a midweek match against Chelsea, Bayern came into Hoffenheim and dominated the match right from the word go. Matches every 3-4 days can be exhausting for the players, so to counter that, Bayern have started putting teams to the sword right from the beginning. Scoring goals in the first twenty minutes allows the team to back off later in the match and “rest.”
This has been a key concept since Flick took over. Under Niko Kovac, oftentimes, the team would have to work incredibly hard till the end of matches to keep or get a win. Now, Bayern’s gameplan is to score immediately, and it has been working wonders in the past four months. Going up quickly has allowed important players to rest and get other players more minutes. This match’s examples were Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller. These two players are incredibly important to Bayern’s season, so getting them off the field quickly will help in keeping them fresh for upcoming games.
No Lewandowski, No Problem
It was a big shock when a report came out that Lewandowski would be out for a month with a leg injury, a day after he played a big role in clinching massive victory against Chelsea. Lewandowski reportedly played through the injury against the English club. This prompted Bayern fans to start to speculate as to who Hansi Flick would choose to fill that void. Would it be Muller? Would it be Serge Gnabry? But instead, he went with the teenager, Joshua Zirkzee.
Joshua Zirkzee has risen through the ranks of Bayern’s youth system, and this season he made a breakthrough in the first team. Flick chose to hand Zirkzee his first start in the Bayern shirt. The youngster didn’t disappoint and repaid the manager’s faith by scoring a goal.
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His goal is not the main point of this section. The big fear with Lewy’s injury was that because he was the main source of Bayern’s goals, where would goals come from? It has become pretty clear that with this kind of energy and effort from the team, that won’t be a problem.
The goals came from everywhere. Gnabry, Kimmich, Zirkzee, Coutinho, and Goretzka all got on the scoresheet. However, the real major component from this scoreline was Thomas Muller, who continued his incredible run of form by getting two assists in the match.
Once again, Muller opened up space in the defense and used his tactical acumen to find players in open spots to score goals. Meanwhile, Gnabry used his pace effectively to consistently get past Hoffenheim defenders. The entire Bayern attack are in top form, and if this match was any indicator of the matches to come, then Die Roten will be fine in Lewandowski’s absence.
A Major Controversy to Finish
Unfortunately, there was an event in this match that will overshadow the actual game and the brilliant performance put on by the team. Towards the end of the match, Bayern fans unveiled a banner that insulted the owner of TSG Hoffenheim, Dietmar Hopp. At first, the match was paused, and coach Hansi Flick went over to the away stand to tell the fans to bring down the banner. The fans obliged and the match resumed.
Five minutes later, the protests continued, and the referee had no other option than suspend the match. He ushered the players into the tunnel off the field. The situation was so extreme that the Bayern hierarchy of Karl Heinz Rummenigge and Oliver Kahn came out from the stands, and walked towards the away stand and angrily yelled at the fans for their actions.
Once the players came out of the tunnel, they just passed the ball to each other for the last 15 minutes. Rummenigge and Hopp stood on the sideline, showing an act of solidarity, and once the match ended, the players came over and stood with them. The players, coaches, and management all showed class and deserve recognition for their reaction.
The problem here is how the Bundesliga will react to the incident. Will, it just be a fine or will there be something more serious such as a points reduction? Will the Bayern leaders take matters into their own hands? The repercussions of this game can have a big impact on Bayern’s season if they are handed a points deductions. This is something to keep watch on, and hopefully, something like this never happens again.