Bayern Munich comfortably beat Bochum to return to the top of the table after RB Leipzig’s win against SC Freiburg yesterday.
As expected when playing bottom of the league, Bayern were in control for much of the first half, but not without their moments. Bochum, like Barcelona in midweek, had clearly identified a weakness in Bayern’s backline and a long ball forward caused a mix-up between Manuel Neuer and the Bayern defenders to allow Moritz Broschinski through but Min-Jae Kim would clear off of the line.
Most of Bayern’s threats were from set pieces as they took the lead through a Michael Olise free-kick 15 minutes in. They would then double their lead when a Joshua Kimmich free-kick would be diverted into the next by Jamal Musiala.
The second half followed a similar pattern as the first as early on Bochum looked as if they could potentially cause Bayern some issues but that period ended after some Musiala magic played through Kane who made it 3-0. Long-range efforts from Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman made it 5-0 to Bayern and that was that.
Bayern sees a lot of the ball, especially against weaker sides but their high line is still problematic and if Bochum can take advantage of this, 17 other teams in the league can do as well. Die Rekordmeister are also slowly relying more on individual quality than well-worked team goals as can be seen with four of the goals scored this afternoon.
For Bochum, they are still winless but the period where they have positive aspects of their play will give them confidence that the win is on the horizon.
Bochum XI:
Patrick Drewes (4), Jakov Medic (5), Ivan Ordets (5), Tim Oermann (5), Felix Passlack (5), Erhan Masovic (5), Ibrahima Sissoko (6), Anthony Losilla (5), Maximilian Wittek (5), Dani de Wit (5), Moritz Broschinski (6)
Others: Cristian Gamboa (6), Lukas Daschner (5), Philipp Hofmann (5), Koji Miyoshi (5), Mats Pannewig (-)
Bayern Munich XI:
Manuel Neuer (5), Konrad Laimer (5), Dayot Upamecano (5), Min-Jae Kim (5), Alphonso Davies (6), Joshua Kimmich (6), João Palhinha (5), Michael Olise (6), Jamal Musiala (8), Kingsley Coman (6), Harry Kane (6)
Others: Thomas Müller (5), Leroy Sané (6), Leon Goretzka (5), Mathys Tel (5), Eric Dier (5)
GGFN Man of the Match: Jamal Musiala (8)
On his return from injury, Musiala provided a goal and an assist, with his assist being the standout. The 21-year-old received the ball in the middle of Bochum’s half and slalomed through Bochum’s midfield and defence before playing it to Kane who turned it in. The return of Musiala will likely give Bayern a big boost when it comes to creativity in the final third, something they lacked against Barcelona in midweek.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
