Bundesliga
Bayern confidence despite Coman shock – tradition with Kane
Bayern’s Harry Kane celebrates after his goal to make it 3-1 against FC Augsburg. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
The next injury shock after Coman’s exit hits “bewitched” Bayern hard. A new dream player, on the other hand, is pleasing. A large dose of tradition doesn’t just bring Kane a new experience.
After the Coman shock, Thomas Tuchel could at least be happy about that Harry Kane remained uninjured during the beer mug competition and hammering. Deeply relaxed after the victory in Augsburg, the Munich 100 million striker chatted during the crash course in customs in the Upper Bavarian idyll – also about the Leverkusen mistake.
“That was good for us. We have to stay focused, we believe in ourselves,” said the 30-year-old in the village that was renamed “Kaneweidach” from Kirchweidach for the prominent guest. In order to ensure a successful outcome in Munich, more stars must not get injured in the title fight. The new signing of full-back Sacha Boey from Galatasaray Istanbul for around 30 million euros could not make us forget the shock of the torn medial ligament in Kingsley Coman’s knee.
First title for Kane
Kane, who was still without a championship in his great career, took home a snuff cannon as a laughing trophy from the Altötting district after winning a Bavarian mini-Olympics with pushing beer mugs and hammering nails. The chance to get back to the top in the Bundesliga after the Werkself’s 0-0 draw against Mönchengladbach gave Kane & Co. an extra helping of applause during the traditional fan club visits.
Tuchel’s mood was also better. After the coach complained loudly during the 3-2 win in Augsburg, he beamed at the Red Stars’ acclaimed reception in Heidenheim. He had long since put the dispute behind him. “Not so good, but not so bad either,” said the 50-year-old on ZDF when asked about his “Are you crazy” argument with Augsburg sports director Marinko Jurendic.
Coman injury dampens mood
However, Tuchel had not yet left the next injury shock after Coman’s exit behind him during his visit to Heidenheim. The Frenchman, who has repeatedly been stopped by injuries, will be missing for weeks along with other regular players. Two weeks before a title showdown in Leverkusen, Tuchel has to think about a creative formation without the injured Coman, Joshua Kimmich, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano and Serge Gnabry. Minjae Kim and Noussair Mazraoui are currently at the Asian and African Cups.
“Not much can happen anymore, that’s clear,” said sports director Christoph Freund. “We have good quality players, but a lot of them are also missing.” The transfer planning for the winter had actually been completed, said the 46-year-old. And now?
Boey should help on defense
The signing of Boey is an answer to the defensive shortage. Max Eberl, who was considered the future Munich sports director, saw from the stands in Augsburg that the terrible personnel misery of his former and perhaps soon-to-be-return club was also continuing offensively due to Coman’s injury.
“It’s magical at the moment that we go out with an injured player every game,” said Thomas Müller, who came on very late despite the personnel shortage and then also caused a penalty. “We’re happy that we’re back at the top of the table. That’s all that matters at the moment. We’re a small group anyway, so we have to stick together.”
Neuer announcement: Nothing works on its own right now
In a turbulent derby with several groundbreaking VAR decisions and two penalties, Bayern held together. Kimmich’s replacement Aleksandar Pavlovic with his debut goal, Alphonso Davies and, after the mini-slump of two games, Kane also scored again. The road to the title is still very long, said Kane, who also joined in with a “Harry Kane song” to the sounds of Jingle Bells.
It wasn’t just Ermedin Demirovic’s two goals that showed that the Bayern structure was fragile. “We don’t have these easy games in the Bundesliga right now,” said captain Manuel Neuer, who saved a penalty he was responsible for when the score was 3-1. “Nothing works for us now, as we are used to against teams that we might sometimes score three or four goals.”
Neuer is counting on “the downtime not being that long.” Especially with a view to the Leverkusen highlight on February 10th and the first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League at Lazio Rome four days later. By then, the 23-year-old Frenchman Boey, a “dream player” for Freund, should have settled in. He is the second winter signing after defender Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).