Despite a successful start to the season, Julian Nagelsmann had a few "question marks" to clear up ahead of the Bundesliga match with VfL Bochum on Sunday. With some key players struggling with minor injuries, (a fact the Bayern coach revealed two days before the game in the pre-match presser), the 35-year-old was forced into making some changes: three of them. Leroy Sané, Mathijs de Ligt and Kingsley Coman came in (the latter had been suspended last time out) - and all of them immediately made an impact!
Three new boys directly involved in first four goals
Sané set the pace early on with the opening goal in the 4th minute, thanks to Coman's assist, setting Bayern on their way to a convincing 7-0 win at the Ruhr Valley club. Newcomer de Ligt (25') increased the lead with his first competitive goal for FCB before Coman showed that his three-game suspension from the Bundesliga had really spurred him on: first the Frenchman scored to make it 3-0 (33'), then he collected the next assist in Sadio Mané's goal to make it 4-0 (42'). After the break, it was the 26-year-old who won the penalty for Mané's second goal (60').
"It makes you feel good when you have a large group of great players to choose from," said coach Nagelsmann after the final whistle, pleased with the strong performance from his starting eleven newbies. Due to intense competition, none of his players can "let up in training" - competition provoking productivity: "We have such good squad depth that just a good match performance alone is no longer the sole decisive factor for who is in the starting eleven next time out. We have a good squad and those who train best play the next match."
New (but good) problems for Nagelsmann
The fact that new questions will now come up for Nagelsmann in terms of picking his next team after some great performances in the west of Germany is something the head coach can cope with in the current situation: "Who plays next Saturday isn't an easy question after today's game," the coach added. A good problem for a football coach, mind.
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