Bayern Munich: Takeaways from thumping win against Hoffenheim
Bayern Munich continued to maintain a healthy gap at the top of the Bundesliga table after clinching an entertaining 4-1 win against Hoffenheim at Allianz Arena on Saturday. The German Champions are yet to hit last season’s heights in terms of performance levels, but they showed glimpses of their best against Hoffenheim.
Hansi Flick will be pleased with the performance of his players, but there is still scope for improvement as they concede a lot of chances. Apart from that takeaway, here are other important takeaways from Bayern’s third consecutive league win.
Roca shines with Kimmich in the center of the park
After Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez were tested positive for coronavirus and Corentin Tolisso breaking covid protocols, the opportunity came up for Marc Roca to get some Bundesliga minutes under his belt. He grabbed this chance with both hands and delivered a solid performance on Saturday.
The Spaniard kept the play ticking in the middle of the park and allowed Joshua Kimmich to venture forward. Roca still has a long way to stake a strong claim to get the nod ahead of other midfielders, but Saturday was a good start for him to kickstart his career in Bavaria.
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Gnabry gets reward for recent consistent performances
Ever since returning from a minor injury in the DFB Pokal game, Serge Gnabry has looked more threatening in the final third. After a dip in form for a couple of months, a much more confident Gnabry has been visible on the pitch in the last three-four games.
Gnabry’s hard work paid off against Hoffenheim as he finally scored a league goal since the end of October. It was a tidy finish after some neat play from Kingsley Coman on the left flank. Gnabry needs to get in the groove and maintain this consistency as Bayern enters the crucial phase of the season. Moreover, Die Roten needs more goals from wide forwards to have a chance of defending the Champions League title.
Hansi Flick may have to stick with consistent center-back pairing
Bayern still has a long way to go in terms of finding defensive solidity. In the last three games, they have looked much better than they did in December. It is no coincidence that these performances have come when David Alaba and Jerome Boateng have once again got a run of games together.
Next. Bayern should quickly secure the future of Boateng. dark
The German manager should stick to this partnership in the league until the team gets some sort of consistency in performances. Both players may not have a long term future at the club, but results are equally important at the moment.