Bayern Ease Past Shakhtar | OneFootball

Following their weekend win over Heidenheim, Bayern traveled away to Gelsenkirchen to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League Tuesday.

Vincent Kompany made just a few changes to the lineup starting Daniel Peretz, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim MinJae, Raphaël Guerreiro, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller.

Three Things We Noticed

Poor Start, Good Response

Shakhtar got out to a dream start thanks to some shoddy defending, with Laimer especially being out of position on a far too easy counter attack to give them the lead in just the fifth minute.

It was an all too familiar scenario where one or two players were caught out of position and ball watching while a player slipped in behind them. This situation is particularly frustrating as it was entirely preventable despite the high line and tactics.

However, Laimer did his best to make up for it scoring the answering goal just six minutes later. It was especially good to see Bayern immediately respond so quickly as early goals can sometimes take the life out this team.

However, following Laimer’s goal, there was very little doubt who would win this tie. Bayern dominated the match for the majority of the 90 minutes and deserved the 5-1 score line.

Central Control

Kimmich has somewhat quietly been having a very good run of play this season. Especially after last year when so many were question whether he should even be playing in the midfield or possibly even at Bayern.

He has been the controlling and consistent force in the center of the pitch. Despite a lack of consistency in his playing partner, the new tactics and role have suited Kimmich perfectly and he is once again controlling the tempo and providing an outlet to both the defense and attack.

However it has been with Pavlovic that the midfield looks complete. The two complement each other very well and have provided the best balance between passing, possession, control and defense. Hopefully Pavlovic returns to full health soon as this pairing will likely be key to Bayern’s success this season.

Attacking Answers

Despite missing Harry Kane, Bayern are still scoring goals. Without the focus at the top, they have naturally been looking more to the middle where Musiala has been in sensational form. However, today Olise once again showed exactly why Bayern were so keen to sign him this summer as well.

The Frenchman scored two goals, one from the spot, and provided another assist. Meanwhile Musiala added a goal and assist of his own. Perhaps more importantly Müller and Laimer’s goals showed that this team is capable of scoring from different places and doesn’t have to be entirely reliant upon Kane even when he gets back.

Of course there is no question that the return of the Englishman will add a potent weapon to this team, but perhaps today was enough to silence some of the questions as to where those goals might come from when he is absent.