Kane, Kim and Müller offside
The last line-up of the top game Bayern overruns Stuttgart
December 17, 2023, 9:23 p.m
A week after their humiliation at Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern is back in impressive fashion. Seriously injured in terms of personnel, the Munich team paved the way to victory against surprise team VfB Stuttgart in the 2nd minute. Even two offside goals didn’t stop Tuchel’s team.
Thanks to a show of force, a tactically excellent FC Bayern keeps in touch with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. The record champions, who were severely weakened in terms of personnel, deservedly won the top game against VfB Stuttgart 3-0 (1-0) and also showed a strong reaction in the league a week after the debacle in Frankfurt.
Goal scorer Harry Kane (2nd, 55th) with his goals of the season 19 and 20 and Min-Jae Kim (63rd) rewarded the Munich team for an excellent tactical and playful performance. The previous surprise team from Stuttgart found no resistance against coach Thomas Tuchel’s team and suffered their fourth defeat of the season after their recent dominant performances.
It was not for nothing that Tuchel spoke of a “big challenge” in the run-up to the summit. It was probably inconvenient for the 50-year-old that he had to completely reorganize his midfield. Both Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were missing due to a flu-like infection, while Raphael Guerreiro and youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic moved into the starting line-up.
Tuchel has full confidence in his team
“Of course we would have wished it differently,” said Tuchel, who reshuffled his midfield with the addition of Thomas Müller to three of five positions, before the game on DAZN: “But the team that is on the pitch has ours Trust. I hope everyone is ready.”
His hope was confirmed after just 83 seconds. After a bad pass from Atakan Karazar, Müller quickly switched gears, Leroy Sane got the ball in front of Alexander Nübel who was rushing out and passed it across to Kane, who only had to push in. A dream start for Bayern.
VfB immediately tried to find an answer, but often acted too hectic and thus opened up space for Munich’s counterattack. However, Konrad Laimer (8th) aimed just as inaccurately as Maximilian Mittelstädt (16th) on the other side. The supposed 2-0 by Kim (25th) was also disallowed due to offside.
Kim scores his first league goal
Stuttgart remained the slightly more active team with ball possession values around 70 percent. Bayern continued to rely on counterattacks – and were therefore significantly more dangerous than the guests. Sane (29th, 37th) as well as Kane and Jamal Musiala (45th) missed the best chances before another Bayern goal by Müller (45th + 2) was again ruled out for offside.
However, the Munich team did not let this deter them; the second half also produced a hardly changed picture. Stuttgart struggled against Bayern’s remarkably stable defensive block – and the home team once again got off to a perfect start. A free kick cross from Pavlovic was extended to the back post to Kane, who hit the empty net again. Kim’s debut goal made the decision.