They didn’t play his favorite Christmas carol. Julian Nagelsmann had said the day before at the press conference that he would like “Silent Night, Holy Night”, and tears would always “roll” while singing at the Christmas tree. But after FC Bayern’s 4-0 win against Wolfsburg, the English classics for the holidays were more likely to run in the stadium. And when the coach gave the last television interviews on the lawn, there was no longer any contemplative music on the playlist. “Sober” by Pink echoed through the empty Munich arena, more of a kind of bouncer: “Why do I feel this party’s over?”
After the last of many victories, it wasn’t exactly a highly emotional end of the year 2021 for the German record champions. Of course, this was mainly due to the fact that ghost games have to be played again in Bavaria due to the pandemic. But it was also due to the encounter, the result of which was evident early and clearly. VfL Wolfsburg, who have now lost seven competitive games in a row but at least started the season as a Champions League participant, placed themselves so deeply in their own half that it was tantamount to surrender.
Symptomatic of Munich’s superiority was a scene shortly before the end when Jamal Musiala was about to be replaced, but Benjamin Pavard left the field instead. “He came out and said in French that he had to go to the bathroom,” Nagelsmann reported. “When the ball was on the other side, it disappeared into the catacombs.” But didn’t do anything, “it worked just fine”.
FC Bayern scored 56 goals in the first half of the season, more than any other team before. 43 points mean nine points ahead of second place Borussia Dortmund by Saturday evening. As beatable the record champions appeared in the meantime, although two games were lost against Frankfurt and Augsburg and the puzzling 0: 5 in the DFB-Pokal against Borussia Mönchengladbach belongs to this season, everything still points to the continuation of Munich’s dominance and title number ten in Series. Or as CEO Oliver Kahn said on Sat.1: “We are absolutely on course in the Bundesliga.”
Robert Lewandowski will score his 43rd goal in 2021
How Bayern scored the goals was no less impressive from a football aesthetic point of view. Especially in the second half, the hits were preceded by combinations that suggested the finest coordination. The game also seemed to follow the pattern of rounding off as many stories as possible from the first half of the season. Thomas Müller scored in his 400th Bundesliga game after just seven minutes to make it 1-0 and later made it 2-0 with his 15th assist of the season, the next record. The performance gave his trainer the opportunity to fully praise Müller’s work and character, from his influence on the field to his jokes (“really great”).
Robert Lewandowski scored his 43rd goal of the calendar year to make it 4-0 shortly before the end – of course, a record, Gerd Müller scored 42 goals in 1972. Lewandowski even celebrated his 19th goal of the season, unlike the last two goals in Stuttgart. Everything’s back to normal for now, that’s how you could interpret it and you can now wait and see how Lewandowski reacts the next time a pass doesn’t reach him.
The other two goal scorers were also two protagonists in the first half of the season. The 2-0 headed defender Dayot Upamecano, the most expensive purchase in the summer. The 23-year-old doesn’t always radiate security, but now he has scored his first goal at the new club. The 3-0, a shot from the edge of the box that was twisted into the corner, was the next of many beautiful goals from Leroy Sané, who can be called Bayern’s first-half player: In the first home game, he was whistled by a few fans. In the meantime, he regularly refutes his critics even with intensive defensive work.
When it comes to describing the offensive, which is overwhelming for almost every Bundesliga opponent, there is not only the aforementioned protagonists, but also the coach. Nagelsmann, 34, developed Munich football most clearly in front of the opposing goal. In the empty stadium one could hear how Müller asked his colleagues to create “chaos” in Wolfsburg’s penalty area. It was a vivid description of how the Munich team regularly attack opponents’ sixteen-meter spaces with at least half of their field players.
At the end of the first half of the season, the coach also managed to keep the squad, which had been weakened due to the coronavirus (Joshua Kimmich, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting) or minor injuries (Leon Goretzka, Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman, Niklas Süle) from looking so small leave. He tried Musiala successfully as a central defensive midfielder. The previous permanent reservist Marco Roca next to him also fulfilled his task.
This fit what sports director Hasan Salihamidžić said at Dazn: No purchases are planned in winter. He doesn’t like big squads, prefers to work with fewer players in terms of content, said Nagelsmann. And he reported that he had expressed his thanks to the team and his anticipation for the second half of the season in the dressing room.
“We can look forward to the hot months of March and April,” said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The most important games for FC Bayern will then likely take place in the Champions League.