Three Bayern takeaways: Karl gives Kompany a headache | OneFootball

FC Bayern wins on Bundesliga Matchday 8 at Borussia Mönchengladbach. FCBinside provides three key takeaways from the match.

Bayern continued their winning streak and won 3-0 in Gladbach. The game offered the following insights:

1. Karl makes it tough for Kompany

The Lennart Karl hype continues. After his sensational performance against Brugge, the 17-year-old once again drew all the attention in Gladbach. Shortly after being subbed on, he sealed the 3-0 final score at Borussia-Park with another dream goal, following up on his screamer in the Champions League.

Before the match, the question was whether coach Vincent Kompany would start Karl, as he did against Brugge. But the coach only brought the youngster on in the 76th minute. Just five minutes later, Karl hammered the ball under the crossbar.

Kompany has a clear plan for Karl; recently, the Belgian even spoke of “development” regarding the super talent. Kompany doesn’t want the hype to get too big—he’s not a fan of hype anyway, as the 39-year-old has explained.

Karl is to be gradually integrated into the team. But Karl is making it difficult for Kompany. If he continues to make such impressive use of his minutes, the calls for more Karl minutes and starting appearances will only get louder.

But that’s a “problem” Kompany will surely be happy to have. Karl is seizing his chance, just as you’d hope from a campus talent.

On Wednesday, Bayern head to Cologne for the cup—a crucial match in a heated atmosphere, with Bayern eager to finally reach the final in Berlin again. After Karl’s brief gala performance in Gladbach, Kompany will have to face the question: Will Bayern’s new hope start in Cologne?

2. Diaz misses too many chances

Luis Diaz has a secure spot in Bayern’s attack. The Colombian always plays under Kompany. The new signing from Liverpool has justified this trust with his strong scoring stats and his work rate on the pitch. In 13 competitive matches for Bayern, Diaz has scored seven times and assisted four more goals. That’s impressive.

However, his goal tally could be much higher, as Diaz has missed too many big chances since moving to the Isar. In Gladbach, it happened again in the very first minute: after a pass from Nicolas Jackson, he missed a clear-cut chance in front of the Gladbach goal—a 100% opportunity.

Diaz missed a similarly big chance in the DFB-Pokal at Wehen Wiesbaden, and also in the Bundesliga at Augsburg. In the top match against Dortmund, Diaz missed another clear chance in stoppage time. Against Brugge in the Champions League, he failed to convert several big opportunities. In total, Diaz has missed six big chances in just eight Bundesliga games.

Currently, Bayern are still winning everything, and if one player doesn’t score, another does—see Lennart Karl this time. But: with big games coming up, like against Paris in the Champions League, Bayern need to be more clinical with their chances. Let’s hope Diaz saves a few decisive goals for the big matches.

3. Jackson still fails to convince

Nicolas Jackson delivered a truly disappointing performance in Gladbach. He received an FCBinside rating of 5. The Chelsea loanee started up front as the main striker, with Harry Kane dropping deeper. What had worked well in the past didn’t work at all this time. The two forwards seemed to get in each other’s way. Kane couldn’t find space and remained goalless.

Photo: IMAGO

After the Champions League match in Cyprus against Pafos, it looked as if Jackson could offer Bayern something extra as an additional striker. But in his subsequent appearances, the Senegalese has raised a few question marks—even if he did manage a tap-in against Brugge.

If Jackson’s negative trend continues, his future at FC Bayern looks bleak—even if the club’s management continues to defend him. If Jackson keeps playing like this, sooner or later everyone will be asking whether, for example, Lennart Karl shouldn’t be getting his minutes instead.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.