Bayern Munich: Three takeaways from 3-2 win over FC Koln

Bayern Munich registered their first victory of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season on Sunday against FC Koln. The second half was where all the action was as Bayern outlasted their opponents in a 3-2 thriller. Neither side was able to score in the first 45 minutes but in the second half, five goals were scored.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 50th minute with Serge Gnabry adding a second goal in the 59th minute. It appeared as if Rekordmeister were going to cruise to victory but the visitors rallied to scored two goals in just three minutes to level the match. The game-winning goal came in the 71st minute courtesy of Gnabry who blasted a well-placed shot into the back of the net.

Here are three takeaways from the 3-2 victory for Die Roten on Sunday.

A tale of two halves

The second half of Sunday’s match was the polar opposite of the first half. The hosts had registered just one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes and Köln and recorded zero shots on target. Those statistics changed in the second half with Die Roten and Köln combining for five goals.

Although the first half may have not been the most exciting, the second half certainly made up for it with end-to-end action.

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Jamal Musiala makes an impact from the bench

One of the two substitutions Julian Nagelsmann made at halftime was bringing Musiala in for Leroy Sane. The introduction of the 18-year-old into the match proved to be a key moment as he went on to register an assist within five minutes of entering.

Musiala went on to finish with two key passes and six dribbles. Despite only entering at halftime, no other player on the pitch was able to match Musiala’s six successful dribbles. He was certainly an impactful substitute.

Serge Gnabry’s brace leads the way

It was a top-class performance from Gnabry in the second half. The winger’s two goals propelled Bayern to all three points and it was his second strike that proved to be the match-winning goal.

Gnabry has been one of Bayern’s consistent goal contributors over the past few seasons in the Bundesliga. He has scored at least ten goals in all three of his prior seasons with Die Roten and he is off to a great start in the 2021/22 campaign. The challenger for Gnabry is to achieve consistency which he enjoyed during the treble-winning campaign. He had a challenging season last year, but a good start this year bodes well for Die Roten.