In their opening game at the FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich put an overmatched Auckland City team to the sword with a 10-0 thrashing. Whilst Bayern entered the match missing several key players due to injury, it should be noted that Auckland City is an amateur side and was without several players who were unable to take time off work for the tournament.
The German Champions went on to deliver a professional and ruthless display in disposing of their vastly inferior opponents. With the first CWC game out of the way, let’s now look at some interesting takeaways from Bayern’s emphatic 10-0 victory over the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Champions.
High-line defense still the way for Vincent Kompany
From the off, it was clear that, with the opposition sitting deep, Vincent Kompany was seizing the opportunity to introduce the newly-acquired Jonathan Tah to his team’s preference for defending with a high-line, notwithstanding the lack of quality in the opposition.
Bayern’s two center-backs, Josip Stanisic and Jonathan Tah, playing alongside each other for the first time in a competitive fixture, spent the majority of the game in the opponents’ half of the pitch. The Bavarian giants were successful with associated counter-pressing and as a result, enjoyed 72% ball possession. Tah couldn’t have asked for better circumstances to begin his adaptation to the high-line strategy that Kompany will be expecting him to thrive under. It won’t be that easy against Boca Juniors on Friday.
Welcome back Dayot Upamecano and Jamal Musiala
Just after the hour mark, with the scoreline reading 6-0, Bayern fans were given more reasons to smile when Dayot Upamecano and Jamal Musiala joined the party as they replaced Raphael Guerreiro and Harry Kane, respectively.
Upamecano and Musiala had been on the sidelines for over two months due to injury. The fact that they both looked comfortable and came away unscathed against Auckland City augurs well for their participation in the next game. Whilst Upamecano got some valuable time playing alongside Tah in the heart of the defense, Musiala stole the second half show with a hat-trick. It remains to be seen whether or not Kompany will include the pair in the starting XI against Boca Juniors.
Youngsters could have been given more time on the pitch
Kompany did well to introduce the aforementioned Upamecano and Musiala for the last half hour, and also to play 17-year-old Lennart Karl for the entire second half in place of Michael Olise on the right wing. However, one can’t help but feel that with a 6-0 half-time lead, he somewhat missed the trick in terms of blooding the youngsters.
Seeing Karl on the right flank was a breath of fresh air. The teenager acquitted himself well with two shots on target, two successful dribbles, and four crosses. He also won six ground duels.
However, on the opposite flank, Adam Aznou was introduced at left-back with only eight minutes remaining on the clock. Considering that Aznou could likely have a more significant role to play the deeper the team progresses into the tournament, he should have been given more minutes on the pitch.
Kane not scoring-the biggest surprise
This one can be chalked off as an anomaly or treated as a bit of comedy. Auckland city contained Harry Kane but still conceded 10 goals. On the surface, it seems like a joke, but in 61 minutes of action, Harry Kane failed to score.
Nonetheless, Bayern fans need not be too worried. Even though Kane was closely marked throughout his time on the pitch, he still managed to draw a smart save from the Auckland City keeper and linked up well with his teammates despite having only 13 touches. The England captain will have to step it up a gear or two on Friday against Boca Juniors.
Stats courtesy- Fotmob