15th matchday
Bayern don’t let Hoeneß bother them: Kane’s lightning goal
With a confident performance, FC Bayern beat VfB Stuttgart 3-0. photo
© Lukas Barth-Tuttas/dpa
Bayern are fully there in the top game against Stuttgart. Coach Tuchel creatively compensated for the loss of Kimmich and Goretzka in a 3-0 win. The goalscorer increases his goal tally to 20.
Those led by double packer Harry Kane Even with their decimated title rivals Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern won’t let them escape.
The German football series champions dominated the high-flying VfB Stuttgart 3-0 (1-0) even without the sick national players Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the top Bundesliga game.
The match winner was once again Kane. After the mini lull of three competitive games without a goal of his own, the 30-year-old Englishman scored his goals of the season 19 and 20 in the 2nd and 55th minutes. The also extremely strong South Korean Minjae Kim scored for the first time in the Bayern jersey (63rd). Bayern patron Uli Hoeneß cheered in the stands of the Allianz Arena.
VfB, coached by his nephew Sebastian Hoeneß, never came close to the top level shown last in front of 75,000 spectators. The Swabians are not yet a contender for the title. The Munich goals came far too easily. And nothing went forward either. There were no clear chances to score in 90 minutes, Manuel Neuer had a pleasant evening in the Bayern goal.
Leverkusen’s lead over their pursuers FC Bayern had grown to seven points before the start of the game. Bayer had won 3-0 against Frankfurt before kick-off in Munich. So against exactly the Eintracht against whom Bayern had received a heavy 1:5 defeat a week earlier. But against VfB, Kane and Co. were there again.
“There are a lot of failures now,” coach Tuchel groaned before kick-off at DAZN. His double-six emergency solution for Kimmich and Goretzka was Raphael Guerreiro alongside youngster Aleksandar Pavlović. The homegrown player solved his responsibility in front of the defense very well. He also kicked the free kick to make it 2-0 and the corner to make it 3-0.
In a 4-2-2-2 formation, Tuchel cleverly condensed the center of the midfield with Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané moving inwards. Musiala in particular worked intensively defensively and delighted with clever offensive passes and tricks on the ball.
Of course, the dream start to the game in the last home game of the year was helpful for Munich. After Atakan Karazor lost the ball, Müller substituted the starting Sané. The national player beat Alexander Nübel, who was on loan from FC Bayern to VfB, as he ran out of his goal and then fed Kane. The Englishman was able to push the ball in easily. The early lead gave the rebuilt Bayern team security.
The early goal conceded was a real impact for the guests. Top striker Serhou Guirassy (16 goals this season) was signed off from the Bayern defense. It was thanks to Nübel, who looked bad at 0-1, that they stayed in the game at least until Kane’s second goal. Nübel parried strongly against Sané and Kane. And the video assistant conceded two goals from Kim (25th) and Müller (45th + 2) for offside.
Even after the break there was only one top team in the top game – Bayern. They worked collectively against the ball – and repeatedly put Stuttgart in trouble with the ball. The VfB defense was unable to act against the Munich standards.
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