FC Bayern dismantled VfL Wolfsburg at the restart of the Bundesliga. FCBinside provides three insights into the match
Bayern gave Wolfsburg no chance in an 8-1 goalfestival on matchday 16 and the game provided the following insights
1. Kompany’s Bayern are merciless
The 8-1 thrashing of Wolfsburg was a match of superlatives. It was particularly remarkable that coach Vincent Kompany’s team never showed mercy on the overstretched Wolfsburg side. The fact that the VW team’s performance is also an indictment of the current level of their opponents in the Bundesliga is another matter
In any case, Bayern carried on as if the score was 0:1 even when the score was 7:1. Munich launched one attack after another. The goal was no longer three points, but the complete dismantling of their opponents
Captain Manuel Neuer explained: „We really always play to score. You can see that from the result, too, that we don’t stop playing soccer or somehow manage, but we go for the next goal.“ Kompany revealed that he particularly likes this attitude of his stars: „There are moments when it’s 5:1, 6:1, 7:1 and yet they keep running, yet they keep pressing and trying to score more goals.“
Nobody seriously believes that Bayern can still win the championship. They are already eleven points ahead of runners-up Dortmund. There is no real title race, which is why Bayern’s stars are now only using the league to chase new records and best marks
Will it perhaps even be the earliest championship in history? Under Pep Guardiola, FCB were crowned champions on matchday 27 at the end of March 2014 – the earliest title win in the club’s history to date. That doesn’t seem unattainable for Kompany and his squad
But what is even more important is that Kompany’s Bayern are not about to take their foot off the gas in the Bundesliga either, because it is clear that there are still more titles to be won. The DFB Cup is definitely still on the cards, and many things also seem possible in the Champions League. The foreboding remains: in Bayern’s hunt for as many titles as possible, other Bundesliga clubs could come under similar pressure to Wolfsburg
2. Olise and Diaz in the footsteps of Robbery
Every Bayern fan likes to think back to the days of Robbery: for years, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery formed the most dangerous wing-back pairing that Munich has ever had
Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman were considered the hottest candidates, but they never really came close to Robbery
Michael Olise and Luis Diaz are now well on their way. Their numbers are fantastic and their spectacular style of play is simply fun for the fans. In 26 competitive games this season, Olise has scored twelve goals and provided 15 assists, while Diaz has 14 goals and nine assists. Against Wolfsburg, both of them set off fireworks and both secured the FCBinside rating of 1
After the game, everyone was raving about the duo of Olise and Diaz. Sporting director Max Eberl said of Olise: „If I take his position and his moves, then he resembles Arjen Robben.“ And of his congenial partner Diaz: „With ‚Lucho‘ we have the Ribéry type. We have the delicate, elegant, creative type with Michael and we have a bit of the creative chaos-maker with ‚Lucho‘.“
For the fans, all that remains is to enjoy the current form of Bayern’s attack. Together with Harry Kane – who set up a goal against Wolfsburg and scored an absolute dream goal himself – Olise and Diaz form a trio with a quality that is not often found in world soccer
3. Only Karl remains strangely pale
In all the attacking spectacle, only one player remained strangely pale in the Allianz Arena: Lennart Karl barely made an appearance against the tame Wolves. In the test match at Red Bull Salzburg, the 17-year-old still shone with two goals – and showed what he thought about the previous hype surrounding his statements about his dream club Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo’s legendary „Calma“ gesture
Against Wolfsburg, however, the super talent hardly managed anything. Bayern’s attacking play largely passed him by, Karl hardly had any dangerous scenes. Shortly before half-time, he then had a great chance to make it 3:1, but failed to beat Wolfsburg keeper Grabara in front of goal. After that, there wasn’t much more to come, and Karl was substituted after just under an hour
It is clear that the youngster will not be able to shine in every game as he has done so often this season, but the competition for him will increase. Serge Gnabry has recently ousted Karl from the starting eleven, but Jamal Musiala is working flat out on his comeback. When the international returns, Karl’s minutes could decrease again. Unless the game against Wolfsburg was just a brief dip in form.