What a brilliant performance by FC Bayern! In the Bundesliga Sunday afternoon fixture at Bayer Leverkusen (5-1 to Bayern), the Munich team didn't just send their fans into raptures. The outstanding performance, especially the first half, also caused coach Julian Nagelsmann to jump for joy on the sidelines.
Praise for midfield axis
In an outstanding team performance, the 34-year-old head coach singled out a quartet for particular praise, alongside the two scorers of a brace apiece, Robert Lewandowski (3'/30') and Serge Gnabry (34'/37'). "Our whole midfield four, with Thomas, Leroy, Josh and Leon were incredibly good in the first half," Nagelsmann said.
"Josh had an outstanding game, had good link-up play, and was strong in counter-pressing," the Bayern coach said of his number six. Kimmich once again shone as an string-puller and leader in midfield and had the most actions on the ball of anyone in the game with 119. Speedster Sané, meanwhile, fired the most shots at goal (8) and also had the most ball actions in the opponents' penalty area (11).
Müller did what Müller always does - he set up a goal and also scored himself to make it 3-0. "Leroy and Thomas have been doing very well in the half-spaces these past weeks," praised head coach Nagelsmann, before speaking about the energetic Goretzka: "Leon played a somewhat unfamiliar role today. But in the first half he was one of our key players, he tied up the opposition very well and kept getting passes into dangerous areas. Overall, the midfield was very solid today."
Especially in the first half, Bayern did not give Leverkusen an inch in the middle. With strong build-up and excellent pressing, FCB dominated almost at will. After the first 45 minutes, the Munich team were already 5-0 up. In the second half, the record champions dropped down a gear and are now looking ahead to the upcoming Champions League group stage away tie against Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal, next Wednesday.
How Bayern managed the outstanding victory in Leverkusen:
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