Bayern Munich 3-0 Mainz: Initial reactions and Observations

One step closer!

Initial reactions and Observations

• Bayern started the game rather shaky but slowly grew into it throughout.
• Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanisic have made a case for being MotM in this match. Shoutout to Jonas Urbig for those massive saves and Michael Olise for showing Joshua Kimmich how to take corners.
• Jonah Kusi-Asare made his debut! Hopefully Kompany gives more chances to youth players.

That’s all, folks! Thank you so much for sticking around. Leverkusen’s win means there won’t be any title celebrations today. Bayern winning against Leipzig next week means they win the league irrespective of Leverkusen’s result. Harry Kane’s suspension is a minor setback but the team should have enough to beat the Lawnballers. Hope to see you around for Leipzig! See ya then.

90+5’ — Full time.

84’ — TOR! Michael Olise sends in a corner and Eric Dier knocks it past Zentner.

72’ — Nothing much has happened apart from Leroy Sane’s missed chip.

45’ — Second half has begun!

Halftime Observations

• This has been an erratic match for Bayern so far. Sane and Olise scored goals but collectively the team has been uninspiring, and individually frustrating.
• Harry Kane getting booked is unfortunate so he must do his part today at the very least.
• Serge Gnabry has finished his purple patch and went back to being mediocre.
• Bayer Leverkusen is also on a two-goal cushion against Augsburg. Looks like the wait for a trophy might be next week, where ironically Kane won’t be playing.

45+2’ — Halftime.

45+1’ Leverkusen 2-0 up as well (for realsies). Harry Kane also gets booked which is his fifth of the season in the league meaning he serves a one match suspension (Leipzig next week).

40’ — TOR! Michael Olise channels his inner Arjen Robben, cuts inside and fires a low shot to Robin Zentner’s left. Bayern two to the good now!

27’ — TOR! Leroy Sane tangles with Serge Gnabry inside the box but manages to fire a right-footed shot into the net.

24’ — Augsburg fall further back. 2-0 (Edit: Goal disallowed, still 1-0)

14’ — Leverkusen go 1-0 up

12’ — Leroy Sane and Jonathan Burkardt both had big chances to put their teams 1-0 up but the former’s shot gets saved while the latter’s went over the bar.

Kickoff! — We are underway!

Lineups are out! Kim Min-jae makes his way back to the starting team along with Aleksandar Pavlovic. Thomas Muller has been benched but other than that, no major changes from Vincent Kompany.

The winner of the coveted Meisterschale could be decided as early as today. All Bayern Munich needs to do is to beat Mainz and hope that Bayer Leverkusen doesn’t win against Augsburg. If the Rekordmeister wins and Die Werkself draws, that puts them at 75 and 65 points respectively. With three games remaining and a maximum of nine points from those three games, the 10-point gap between the two teams is enough to give Bayern the Bundesliga.

In that dream scenario, the Bavarians can theoretically lose their last three games (knocks on wood) and Leverkusen wins their last three games and Bayern would still win the league by one point (75 to 74). In other words, it is imperative that the team gets three points. Nothing less.

Bayern is top of the league with 72 points (22-6-2) while Mainz is sixth with 47 points (16-8-9). On the other hand, Leverkusen is in second place with 64 points (18-10-2) while Augsburg is 10th place with 43 points (11-10-9). Can Bayern go for glory again?

It’s Bayern time.

While you’re here, please consider listening to our Preview Show for this match! Listen below or on Spotify. Here’s what we have on tap:

• A look at where each team is in the table and also a look back at the first match.
• A look at the injury situations for both teams.
• Why Bayern Munich fans should watch this game.
• A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
• A prediction on the match.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @rayyantwt, @IredahlMarcus, @enadmo1135, @TommyAdams71 and more.

Match Info

Location: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany

Time: 3:30 PM local time, 9:30 AM EST, 6:30 AM EST

TV/streaming: ESPN+, Find Your Country

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