For matchday five of the ongoing Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich welcomed a struggling Werder Bremen side to the Allianz Arena. The hosts duly trounced the visitors by a score of 4-0.
Based on current form and recent history, the result wasn’t a surprise. However, Bayern entered the game far from full strength. To compound the existing shortage of manpower due to a long injury list, Joshua Kimmich didn't start as he was under the weather. He was replaced in the starting XI by youngster Tom Bischof.
Whilst the attacking department, comprised the usual quartet of Harry Kane, Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise and Luiz Diaz, the defense was almost down to bare bones. Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah were flanked by third choice right-back Sacha Boey and Konrad Laimer as the fourth-choice left back. Kim Min-jae was amongst the substitutes despite not being 100% fit.
Having pointed out the above, an upset wouldn’t have been out of the realms of possibility, but Vincent Kompany’s men comfortably recorded yet another impressive victory. Let's have a look at the takeaways from Friday’s win over Werder Bremen.
Good to see several players stepping up together
Not many teams can dominate a game without their midfield maestro while fielding third and fourth choice full-backs, but that’s exactly what Bayern did.
Tom Bischof seized the opportunity to replace Kimmich in the starting lineup and was arguably the best midfielder in the game. Konrad Laimer playing at left-back, in place of the injured Josip Stanisic, was just as effective as he has been on the right flank. Sacha Boey, in his second consecutive start at right back, also played well and appears to be regaining his confidence.
With Bischof, Laimer, and Boey rising to the occasion, the reigning German Champions dominated the opposition, despite Harry Kane missing a few good goal-scoring opportunities early on. Ironically, Kane’s slow start didn’t prevent him from scoring a brace and setting a new record for reaching 100 goals quicker for a club than any other player in the top-five European leagues.