And that is Thomas Müller’s last home game for Bayern.
Bayern Munich celebrated the Meisterschale with an emphatic 2-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bayern holds 79 points, 11 ahead of second-place Bayer 04 Leverkusen. While the club, fans and the entirety of Bavaria celebrates, we take a look at the game to see what is next, for both the club and some of the players.
Thomas Müller — the greatest orchestrator
The greatest orchestrator, attacking midfielder, and Bayern Munich player of all time.
Not too many players in football history have made a name for themselves like Thomas Müller. While Müller’s history and impact on the club are out of the scope of discussion for now, his performance today by itself was a classic Müller game though it was unfortunate that he could not score.
Müller started tonight in his classic number ten position and made his presence felt from the very first minute. He was the one to identify spaces on the pitch, making those seemingly insignificant, yet crucial passes. Despite the multiple holes that Gladbach were able to identify, Bayern remained a threatening presence because of Müller’s intelligence and awareness.
Watching him hoist the Meisterschale is as painful as it gets — it means this is over. The Raumdeuter has lifted his final trophy with the Bavarians. 25 incredible years with the club, and it is fortunate that he could finish it with a trophy.
The sweeper keeper is back
While there was much doubt on whether Manuel Neuer was capable of holding his own after being out for months, he shut down all those doubts with style. When the defense failed, he stood tall. There were multiple saves reminiscent of a classic Neuer performance. Tim Kleindienst was particularly lethal tonight and it was the keeper who made the clean sheet happen. In particular, the 39-year-old’s save from a shot by Robin Hack in the 39th minute was phenomenal. Age clearly is just a number for the legendary goalkeeper who shows no signs of slowing down.
A half-hearted performance from the midfield and defense
Tonight was a tale of two halves from the defense. The first half featured a reliable performance from Raphaël Guerreiro, Konrad Laimer, Eric Dier and Josip Stanišić. Konrad Laimer has truly been an underrated hero this season with his crucial contributions in attacking sequences.
However, the second half featured multiple mental lapses as the Gladbach counterattacks overran the Bavarians at home. While there were counterattacks in the first half, they often fizzled out and lost purpose.
That was not the case in the second half. Hack and Kleindienst were constantly making it past the defense. The high line is partially to blame, but the team needs to look into the impact of substitutions and how it has often derailed the pace of the game.
The midfield had a quiet game that left a lot to be desired. All this will be unpacked next season, as Müller will no longer be available to act as the team’s duct tape.
What’s next for this attack?
The attack, run by Müller, had a fantastic game. Michael Olise had an otherworldly, Arjen Robben-like performance. With one goal and one assist to his name, Olise was the star of the show. Harry Kane had a suboptimal performance in my opinion, despite his contribution to the first goal.
Bayern needs Kane to be more of a selfish striker, move as high up the pitch as possible and poach shots. However, he plays rather deep, sometimes even deeper than Müller or Musiala. Some restructuring is needed in the attack but the future is bright as Olise and Kane have been absolutely phenomenal.
The futures of Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry remain undecided, so fans will have to wait and see how it plays out. But it is certain that Bayern have now moved into the most important transition period with Müller’s departure.
