João Palhinha’s Bundesliga debut
João Palhinha finally made his long-awaited Bundesliga debut. The Portuguese defensive-midfield ace replaced Pavlovic for the last quarter hour of regulation time and impacted the game at both ends of the pitch.
Within five minutes of coming on Palhinha found a wide-open Gnabry on the right wing with an excellent long ball. Gnabry then picked out Muller in the box to score Bayern’s second goal. In contrast to that moment, in added time, Palhinha was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. It mattered little as Freiburg substitute Lucas Holer skied the resultant penalty kick. Apart from conceding the penalty, it was an excellent 20 minutes from Palhinha. He’ll be a force to be reckoned with once he settles in.
After two matchdays it’s been a case of so far so good for Vincent Kompany and his Bavarian troops. Rekordmeister enters the international break, with maximum points, trailing only surprise table toppers (Paul Wanner’s) Heidenheim on goal difference.