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September 15, 2024

Eberl Discusses Musiala’s Contract and Goretzka’s Situation in Pre-Match Interview – Bundesliga 

In an interview with Sky shortly before Saturday’s kickoff, FC Bayern München’s sports board member Max Eberl addressed the contract extension discussions with Jamal Musiala and Leon Goretzka’s absence from the match-day squad.

Just before Jamal Musiala became the third-fastest FC Bayern München league goal-scorer in history on Saturday evening, club sports board member Max Eberl discussed the status of contract negotiations with the 21-year-old in a pre-match interview with Sky Germany. Eberl also took the opportunity to support sporting director Christoph Freund’s views on the criticism aimed at the young star by German pundit Dietmar Hamann.

“That’s exactly what serves as a testament to his quality,” Eberl said when discussing Musical’s style of play. “That’s what solves situations for us. We often play against a deep block. Then you need someone who does something extraordinary. And that’s what Jamal can do.”

“The fact is that we have been exchanging ideas for months,” Eberl said of the state of Musiala’s contract negotiations, “We will sit down and talk. We will do this in our own time.Jamal knows what he has at Bayern. But we also know what we have in Jamal.”

“He should become one of the mainstays at Bayern,” Eberl continued, “We want to win the Champions’ League. We want to win national titles. Our aspirations will help Jamal garner his own personal rewards.”

Since the team sheets were announced, Eberl also faced questions regarding Leon Goretzka’s absence. The sidelined German international, like in the opening Pokal round, was not included in Vincent Kompany’s match-day squad. So far this year, Goretzka has only played a minimal role, appearing as a late substitute after the 90th minute.

“We communicated very clearly from the start,” Eberl said, “Leon knew that we were relying on Pavlo [Aleksandar Pavlovic], and that we we would bring in with Palhinha and that Josh [Kimmich] would play more in the center again. It’s just that the competition is fierce..”

“We’ve also said that when Leon is there and ready to face the situation, he’ll be treated completely normally,” Eberl continued, “Leon’s a great guy. I like him a lot, even though he’s obviously upset at the moment. I understand that too. But that’s part of life in football.”

For his part, trainer Kompany is on record stating that he might still need Goretzka to play out of position. Kompany referenced the tight schedule ahead (Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday in the UCL and Werder Bremen on Saturday in the league) as reasons he might still need him.

“Let’s see at the end of next week,” Kompany remarked a Friday presser, “We still have three games. We’ll need everyone.”

Bayern exacted cruel revenge on Kiel, securing first place in the Bundesliga table

German record champions FC Bayern München have officially avenged their January 2021 DFB Pokal away loss to Holstein Kiel, a defeat that many observers view as “the beginning of the end” for FCB’s dominance in German football.

A hat trick from Harry Kane helped the Bavarians maintain a perfect record under new head coach Vincent Kompany, ensuring that Bayern would finish the weekend at the top of the Bundesliga table.

German giant FC Bayern München has preserved their perfect record under newly-appointed head coach Vincent Kompany. After winning their opening round Pokal fixture, the Bavarians have taken maximum points from their first three 2024/25 Bundesliga fixtures. Kompany’s FCB traveled to Holstein Stadium for the first time since the infamous DFB Pokal upset in January 2021. There wouldn’t be much contest this time in a 6-1 victory. The result will enable Bayern to wrap up the weekend.

Kompany made three changes to the side that lined up against Freiburg just before the international break. Sacha Boey, Joao Palhinha, and Kingsley Coman dispatched Aleksandar Pavlovic, Mathys Tel, and Michael Olise. Palhinha played alongside Kimmich in a midfield double-six set-up. The German record champions lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Without suspended coach Marcel Rapp, the hosts went for two personnel switches from their last match. Nicolai Remberg and Dominik Javorcek replaced injured actors Alexander Berhardsson and Marco Komenda.

The newly-promoted side found themselves caught out before 15 seconds had been played. Harry Kane headed a routine Manuel Neuer launch in Jamal Musiala’s direction. The young German phenom latched onto the ball unchallenged and calmly netted the 1-0. The Storks found themselves frustrated despite a few brave attempts to mount a response. A couple of charges from the hosts amounted to nothing. A lousy error from newly anointed Kiel captain Lewis Holtby enabled the Bavarians to double the advantage in the 7th.

Holtby – not exactly inexperienced at Bundesliga level – made a rookie mistake by sending a clearance directly onto the lurking foot of Serge Gnabry. Kane then easily polished off the 2-0. Matters got worse when new introduction Remberg headed a Musiala cross into his net in the 13th. Sitting on a 3-0 lead, Kompany’s crew proceeded to back off significantly for most of the duration of the half. Gantry missed three chances to extend the lead in the 25th, 26th, and 32nd. Coman also couldn’t find a tight-angle finish in the 37th.

Kane found the back of the net off a Gnabry cutback in the 43rd, and the Gerrman giants could head into the tunnel with a commanding 4-0 lead. After the hosts hit the crossbar in the 47th, a good bit of the second half was played at half-speed. FCB substitutes Alphonso Davies and Michael Olise added the 5-0 in the 65th. Davies supplied some fancy footwork and a sharp finish that Kiel keeper Timon Weiner could only parry directly into Olise’s path. 

Kiel subs Tymoteusz Puchacz and Armin Gigović – both new summer acquisitions – were able to pull back a consolation goal in the 82nd, something that certainly helped the mood inside the stadium. Kane would nevertheless score the final goal on this day, slotting home the 6-1 at 90+1. Kane drew the penalty himself off a Carl Johansson tackle. However, most spectators will have found the decision to be relatively soft. 

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