Bayern Munich visits Bayer Leverkusen…are you ready?
One of the hottest topics this week has been João Palhinha and how hard it has been for him to make a mark at Bayern Munich this season.
A difficult transition, combined with a couple of injuries and illnesses has hampered the Portuguese midfielder’s ability to make an impact this season. On Saturday, a questionable red card marred Palhinha’s season even further.
Moreover, some harsh criticism from board member for sport Max Eberl seemed to bolster the thought that Bayern Munich could already be read to move on from the 29-year-old.
Per Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg, Palhinha is not unsellable, but the Bavarians are not actively engaged in any talks with other clubs either:
Due to many unfortunate circumstances, Joao #Palhinha’s move to FC Bayern has not been a full success so far. However, the 29-y/o has not given up, has no intention of leaving Bayern in the summer, and is determined to fight through and win titles.
Only a few players are considered unsellable at Bayern this summer, and Palhinha is not one of them. However, there are currently no talks with other clubs, and Bayern are not pushing for the sale of the Portuguese midfielder. His contract runs until 2028.
They say that styles make fights, but they also play a massive role in how a player fits into a team. Recent history tells us that not every good midfielder is a perfect fit within the framework of Bayern Munich’s central midfield. Over the past decade many stars from Germany and beyond have tried their hand at winning a role and almost none of them have found that task easy.
Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcântara, Joshua Kimmich (though he had to ease his way into the role after playing right-back), and Leon Goretzka are four examples who made it. However, Corentin Tolisso, Michaël Cuisance, Marcel Sabitzer, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Gianluca Gaudino, Sebastian Rode, Renato Sanches, Sebastian Rudy, Marc Roca, Tiago Dantas, Angelo Stiller, Niklas Dorsch, and Ryan Gravenberch are among those who took a swing and whiffed.
You could even argue that Arturo Vidal did not live up to the expectations that many had for him.
The bottom line — it’s not easy, There is a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations, and a lot of competition. Winning playing time in any Bayern Munich central midfield means that a player has excelled in training, that they have performed in games, and that they battled through adversity.
Right now, Palhinha has not been able to do those things. It does not mean they he will not eventually be able to achieve his goal of playing more, but the laundry list of players who took their best shot and still came up empty tells us that his success is no certainty either.
Does he look like he will be worth the €51 million transfer (plus €5 million in add-ons) that Bayern Munich paid for him? No…at least not yet.
Things do not look good and, in fact, his future looks a bit bleak at the moment given the fact that Bayern Munich is bringing in Tom Bischof next season. Competition for playing time could be even more fierce.
Much like all of the other players named above experienced, there will be a “make or break” moment for Palhinha. When that time comes (hopefully it has not already occurred), he will either prove he belongs…or just be another name to add to the list.
As of now, the jury is still out.
Bavarian Podcast Works — The Bundesliga Rundown with Marcus Iredahl: Matchday 25
Matchday 25 brought some of the most surprising results of the Bundesliga 2024/25 season.
In this episode, we dive into key questions:
- Is the Bayer Leverkusen era over?
- Will Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz leave in 2025?
- How are Mainz 05 defying expectations?
- Why is Werder Bremen struggling, despite beating Bayer Leverkusen?
- Is João Palhinha turning into a costly mistake? And what is the worst Bundesliga signing of all time?
Nagelsmann breaks down where he thinks things went wrong last week in the UCL for Leverkusen
Former Bayern Munich boss and current German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann was like many fans — a bit disappointed with how the much-anticipated showdown between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out last week in the Champions League.
When asked by Frankfurter Allgemeine (via @iMiaSanMia) about an argument on who the best team in Germany was, Nagelsmann indicated it looked like Bayern Munich after that match.
“At least that’s what it looked like on Wednesday, yes,” Nagelsmann said. “There have been other duels between Bayern and Leverkusen in which one team was completely inferior. But the difference is that Bayern scored three goals when they were superior, whereas Leverkusen scored none three weeks ago. Without going into detail, the game went badly for Leverkusen from the start.”
In the match Bayern Munich was able to effectively take out both Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz, who made very little positive impact in the match. Nagelsmann thinks the reason for that was because Bayer Leverkusen played too defensive.
“Playing man-to-man marking is nothing special. A player like Flo can usually handle that. But there were simply five defensive players on the pitch. When Mukiele was sent off, I hoped from a neutral point of view that perhaps a center-back would not be subbed on. A situation like that can also be an opportunity, or at least not a disadvantage, because playing with a numerical advantage is rarely practiced, maybe a few minutes a year. But then a center-back came on, so nothing changed in terms of the statics. But I don’t want to judge, Xabi Alonso won everything,” said Nagelsmann.
Song of the Week: “Against the 70’s” by Mike Watt and Friends
It’s story time.
In 1995, Minutemen guitarist Mike Watt ralled an incredible group for a special one-off album titled “Ball Hog or Tugboat?”
Watt was able to get an incredible list of contributors together, which included the likes of Frank Black, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Henry Rollins, Mike D, Ad Rock, Evan Dando, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Krist Novoselic, and Eddie Vedder among many others.
It is hard to really explain how big it was to get Vedder to participate during this period, as he was — arguably — the hottest lead singer on the planet at the time.
The album had a few notable tunes, but this one stole the show — “Against the 70’s.”
If you have not come across this one in your musical travels, well…I hope you enjoy it because I have for about 30 years now (F ME!):
Entertainment Rundown
Daredevil: Born Again
My intent was to start Landman next, but I got derailed.
In the midst of trying to catch up on Invincible (which should be completed this week’s Weekend Warm-up), I dove into first two episodes Daredevil: Born Again. In a spoiler-free way, I will try to unpack everything there. Let’s get to it:
- I have to admit, it was weird picking up the story at the point where the writers chose, but I guess it was unavoidable. I was a massive fan of the initial run on Netflix, but given that this is now a Disney entity, there had to be more widespread tie-in to everything that has gone on in that greater universe. While kind of odd in that respect, it was sort of nice to have the show back.
- The opening of the show set the done for what could be a darker Daredevil than might have known in the Netflix version. While I will maintain a spoiler-free zone, the writers and showrunners made a massive decision on the plot and characters that will undoubtedly affect the series. It remains to be seen if this was a good idea or a bad idea. Barring some sort of contractual issue or conflict, the decision did not make sense to me on the surface.
- Charlie Collins seamlessly picked up a Matt Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio, who is great as Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin, has been great as well. There has been some hate on D’Onofrio, but the way he portrays the character’s every-second fight to keep all of his inner-evil and rage is really cool. It is almost as if he has to battle in every scene to stop from his natural inclinations to harm people and take advantage of them. I don’t get the heat D’Onofrio has taken (in some circles) for how he has portrayed the role.
- One thing that Disney has struggled with across their properties in recent years is storytelling, pacing, and clarity. Daredevil: Born Again has some of those issues, though not enough (yet) to be a massive issue. It was weird to see Fisk rise to being mayor so quickly, though. It almost seems as if they could have handled that much better off-screen than rushing through the plotline.
- I am hoping that the series does not dwell too much on Murdock’s post-Daredevil ambitions and gets back to the reason we are all tuning in.
- The character chemistry is not quite there between the existing characters and the new ones. I’ll leave it at that and let you tell me how you feel.
- Overall, I am good with the first two episodes. They were not as good as the first two episodes from the Netflix version, but — admittedly — Netflix had an open book to work with, which made it that much easier.
Episode 1 rating: 7.75/10.00
Episode 2 rating: 7.25/10.00
Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich will travel to BayArena for the second leg of the Champions League tie with Bayer Leverkusen.
This match was anticipated to be a thriller, but it lost a lot of its luster when Bayern Munich jumped out to a 3-0 lead on aggregate — and with the injury to Florian Wirtz over the weekend.
We will dive deep into that and more during the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show. Here is what we have in tap:
- A look back at the first game of the tie.
- A look at the injury/suspension situations for both teams.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Predictions
Champions League
This one only goes one of two ways…Bayer Leverkusen plays with all-out desperation and urgency and really takes a runat Bayern Munich…or they just fold and this is a boring match where both teams go through the motions.
As talented as Bayer Leverkusen is, I cannot see it overcoming a 3-0 deficit. Xabi Alonso would be wise to just go all-out and try to rattle the sometimes vulnerable backline early, while also getting inside the head of young goalkeeper Jonas Urbig.
High risk, high reward…that’s all Alonso can do. The former Bayern Munich midfielder has to throw Patrik Schick, Victor Boniface, and any other scoring threat at the Bavarians early and often. Every single thought will need to be about attacking.
Admittedly, that will be hard to do, while trying to avoid giving up goals. However, that really might be the only chance Bayer Leverkusen has. It is hard to envision even that strategy working out, so Bayern Munich will take advantage of the lack of focus on defense and positioning and capture a somewhat comfortable 2-1 victory.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Bayern Munich
Other Bundesliga Predictions:
- FC Barcelona 2-1 Benfica
- Liverpool 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
- Inter Milan 2-0 Feyenoord
- Lille 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
- Arsenal FC 3-0 PSV Eindhoven
- Atlético Madrid 0-2 Real Madrid
- Aston Villa 1-0 Club Brugge
Prediction Records
- Last Week Bundesliga: 0-9 (Through Matchday 25 — WTF….first time I’ve ever had a full oh-fer)
- Overall Bundesliga: 105-120
- UEFA Nations League: 81-66
- Champions League: 91-77 (Through Matchday 11)
- DFB-Pokal: 43-17 (Through part 1 of quarterfinals)
- Total: 312-280
- Perfect Picks: 50 (when the score and winner is predicted exactly)
