After seven years at Bayern Munich, Leon Goretzka's future is now under heavy scrutiny, especially after his latest performance.
The German midfielder looked like a tactical weak link in Bayern Munich's streak-snapping draw against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga. Goretzka did not contribute effectively offensively or defensively and was replaced in the 80th minute. However, this has little to do with his quality as a player and is rather a matter of tactical incompatibility.
Leon Goretzka's distinct player profile
Since his breakthrough at Schalke 04, Leon Goretzka has always been an attacking-minded midfielder. His original position to begin his career was a number 10, playing behind the strikers. After developing physically, many coaches started to utilise his already proven offensive prowess and high motor as a box-to-box midfielder.
This role has made Leon Goretzka a household name in Bayern's triumphant, treble-winning 2019/20 season. Goretzka was the beneficiary of a high-intensity pressing system that focused on wing play to create chances.
With Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller attracting all the attention of the defenders, Leon Goretzka became one of the most feared midfielders in Europe thanks to his box-crashing and cleaning up long shots at the edge of the box.
The treble-winning season was Goretzka's most efficient campaign at Bayern, tallying nearly 20 goal contributions despite having to share minutes in a stacked midfield with Thiago, Joshua Kimmich, Javi Martinez, and Corentin Tolisso.
This line-up of talent, especially Thiago and Javi Martinez, helped erase Goretzka's most glaring weaknesses: relieving the press and ball-winning. With the departures of these two players in the upcoming season, the German midfielder faced a lot of problems having to carry these two duties.
Goretzka's qualities don't suit Kompany's system
Fast forward to the Union Berlin game, Leon Goretzka still crashes the box frequently, per usual. However, it felt like this playstyle failed to check every box.
With the absence of a midfielder in the build-up phase due to Goretzka getting further forward, Bayern really struggled to neutralise Union Berlin's extremely physical pressing scheme. Upamecano, Kimmich, and Laimer were always surrounded by multiple players from the home side, making it hard to advance the ball.
When Leon Goretzka dropped deeper to help his teammates, his inability to manipulate in tight spaces was shown, particularly in a play in the first half when Luis Diaz passed the ball back to him and he clumsily fumbled it to the opponent just outside the penalty area.
The 30-year-old did not make an impact going forward either. With Goretzka, Union Berlin's penalty area felt congested. Serge Gnabry and Konrad Laimer want to make a run into the right half-space and support Michael Olise on the underlap. However, Leon Goretzka usually pre-occupied the space with his movement and dragged a defender along with him. While this is not scapegoating Bayern's number 8 for the struggles of three other key players, this might be a contributing factor.
A breath of fresh air
When Aleksandar Pavlovic was brought on, he also carried a whole different playstyle. The 20-year-old plays much closer to the middle of the pitch in a deep-lying playmaker role that only attacks the box if the space allows him to. His presence connected the midfield with the flanks better and opened a passage for Harry Kane to make a run and equalise in the final minutes of the game.
Summer arrival Tom Bischof is also a type of midfielder that fits Kompany's philosophy, a versatile number 6 that can not only create from deep but also make underlapping runs and win the football back.
These two youngsters made it feel like Bayern is finding their Thiago and Javi Martinez of the old days. And the supposed replacement for these two, Leon Goretzka, is now out of the pecking order.
The story between Bayern Munich and Leon Goretzka is never falling out of love. Goretzka loves playing for the red and white and works hard to be able to contribute to the club. That's what earned him his position in the locker room. Bayern fans also cheer the hardest for him, screaming his name at the top of their lungs when he comes on or off the pitch.
However, the tactics and Leon Goretzka's playstyle now seem a bit out of sync. The German star's contract will only run until the end of this current season. He still has every quality to play in the best clubs in the world. But will that club still be Bayern Munich when next July comes by?