Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League; Manchester City in talks with Florian Wirtz; Jeremie Frimpong wants move to FC Barcelona or Real Madrid; and MORE!

Bayern Munich moves on…

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 2-0 win over Leverkusen (Bavarian Football Works)

Holding a 3-0 lead on aggregate, Bayern Munich was never going to panic in the return leg at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Bavarians played a confident, smart game and took advantage of Bayer Leverkusen’s desperation to win a convincing 2-0 match over the home side.

With that, Bayern Munich will move on to face Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s begin with the lineup:

• Everything went exactly as expected with Vincent Kompany’s lineup. Right now, we can really only argue about left wing and that is probably futile.
• Bayer Leverkusen came out extremely fast and was playing with an urgency that was not present in the first leg. Within 10 minutes, Konrad Laimer and Kingsley Coman had picked up yellow cards.
• Bayern Munich was not exactly flat, but it was clear that it was going to have trouble matching Bayer Leverkusen’s energy level if it did not flip a switch pretty quickly.
• Musiala was sent on a break in the 22nd minute, but held on to the ball too long before eventually losing it. Kane and Olise were streaking down the field to his right. At that point, it could be safely assumed that it was not going to be in top form.
• Coman had a golden opportunity in the 29th minute to put the tie away with a goal, but he missed wide of near-post.
• At a minimum, Harry Kane’s mobility still looks really good. The Englishman could be past his bout with calf issues.
• Leon Goretzka probably saved a goal in the 33rd minute with a challenge on Patrik Schick after Dayot Upamecano had fallen.
• In the 52nd minute, Bayern Munich finally got on the scoreboard with a nicely played goal (plus some poor defending) from Harry Kane on a free kick from Joshua Kimmich. That was it, that was the tie.
• Kingsley Coman had to leave the game in the 58th minute after sustaining what looked like a knock after some contact from Jonathan Tah.
• If you want to take a positive out of the match (aside of Bayern Munich’s ability to just deal with the match), it is that Jonas Urbig — again — looked the part of a starting goalkeeper.
• In the 71st minute, Bayern Munich took a 2-0 lead (5-0 on aggregate) on a goal from Alphonso Davies after a beautiful pass from Kane.
• It will not show up in the stat sheet, but Serge Gnabry put in a really nice shift.
• Overall, Bayern Munich did what it needed to do and did not show any weaknesses. As desperate as Bayer Leverkusen was, it could never get on track or seriously threaten Bayern Munich. All-in-all, this was as impressive a tie win as the Bavarians have had in quite some time. If you are a Bayern Munich fan, you are likely very proud of the effort you saw and assuredly looking forward to seeing what the Bavarians will do against Inter Milan.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:

City in talks with Wirtz (ESPN)

Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz is the apple of Bayern Munich’s eye…but Manchester City is reportedly in talks with the attacking midfielder’s representatives:

Manchester City are speaking to the representatives of Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz ahead of a possible summer move, according to Football Insider. The 21-year-old is expected to leave Die Werkself at the end of the season, but the Citizens will face competition from Bayern Munich for the Germany international’s signature.

If Wirtz moves on, it still feels like BayernMunich is the clear leader in the clubhouse no matter what any report says. Sure, money could change everything, but the Bavarians have the inside track as of now.

Bavarian Podcast Works — The Bundesliga Rundown with Marcus Iredahl: Matchday 25 (Bavarian Football Works)

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?

LFC eyeing Schlotterbeck? (@cfbayern)

Sport Bild’s Christian Falk is reporting that Liverpool is going to take a run at Borussia Dortmund center-back Nico Schlotterbeck:

✅ Liverpool have Nico Schlotterbeck (25, contract til 2017) of @BVB Dortmund on their List

❇️ Schlotterbeck could be the successor of Virgil van Dijk (33)

❇️ The centre-back has a salary of €5mio per year

❇️ Dortmund want to give him a new contract

Simons causing issues at Leipzig? (Get German Football News)

It appears that Xavi Simons is losing some of his luster at RB Leipzig this season.

Linked to Bayern Munich consistently over the past year, Sport Bild is reporting that Simons has not produced to the level expected (seven goals, four assists in 24 games across all competitions), has become lackadaisical with his defending, and is not open to feedback:

Sport Bild reports that there are questions surrounding RB Leipzig forward Xavi Simons after his form has not lived up to expectations this season.

Simons is one of the first names on the teamsheet at the Red Bull Arena, but this has not been justified with his performances over recent games. The 21-year-old has lost the ability to decide games and has become a liability when it comes to defending.

This is said by the tabloid, to be becoming a problem in the dressing room as Simons is not so open to criticism and tips on how he can improve his game. Along with his advisors, the Dutch international is said to be able to do what he wants and is not becoming the face of the club that Leipzig had hoped for.

The wheels have just about fully come off RB Leipzig at this point, but it seems like Simons is doubling down on making the problems worse — if the report is true. Certainly, if it is true, this could be cause Bayern Munich to rethink things a bit when it comes to pursuing the Dutchman.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 7, Episode 33 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich took a weekend loss, but that is not at the forefront of mind for most fans.

A flukey result majorly impacted by a red card allowed many fans to grant Bayern Munich a mulligan on the final score — mostly because there are bigger fish to fry this week. In addition, in a weekend rife with upsets in the Bundesliga, the loss to VfL Bochum did not end up hurting Bayern Munich too much in the league table.

Let’s get into our slate of topics. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Unpacking Bayern Munich’s loss to VfL Bochum. Big deal? An anomaly? Just the cost of doing business with a condensed schedule?
• What does €80 million buy you these days? Maybe not much.
• Where do things stand ahead of the Champions League match vs. Bayer Leverkusen.
• Joshua Kimmich’s saga appears to be coming to an end. Were there winners and losers or did this finish up in a good way for everyone?

Frimpong wants move to Real or Barca (Sky Sport)

There is a strong chance that Bayer Leverkusen is going to look a lot different next season. Jeremie Frimpong is eyeing up a move to Real Madrid or FC Barcelona:

Xabi Alonso’s continued stay at Bayer 04 Leverkusen also ultimately convinced Jeremie Frimpong to stay with the Werkself for another season.

But now the winger is planning to leave and Sky knows Frimpong’s dream summer destinations! FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are at the top of the Dutchman’s list, who can very well imagine the Spanish LaLiga as his next sporting home.

It should be noted that those clubs would have to want Frimpong, too.

United trying to figure out future of attack (ESPN)

Manchester United has some work to do in figuring how it wants to reform its attacking group:

Manchester United are desperate to solve their goal-scoring problems ahead of next season, and Calciomercato reports that the Red Devils are ready to offload Rasmus Højlund as part of the rebuild. Højlund has scored only two Premier League goals in 21 appearances in this campaign, with the initial €64m paid to Atalanta in the summer of 2023 now looking expensive. The report says that United will offer Højlund the chance to return to Serie A with Napoli as part of a proposal to sign Victor Osimhen. The Nigeria international is on loan at Galatasaray for the rest of the season, and in the summer he will move into the final year of his Napoli contract. United hope common ground can be found which will see Osimhen head to Old Trafford for a fee of €40m plus Højlund.