Beşiktaş
MKE Ankaragücü
Altay
Manisa FK
E. Frankfurt
Augsburg
Ath. Bilbao
Granada
Genoa
Lazio
Cagliari
Juventus
Nice
Lorient
Ever since returning from the September international break, Bayern Munich has won three Bundesliga matches, two Champions League matches, and also advanced to the next round of the DFB-Pokal by virtue of a 5-1 win over Augsburg, a team that had already beaten them earlier in the season in the league. They’ve looked a completely reinvigorated side bar conceding a late. late goal against Borussia Dortmund to throw at two points at the Westfalenstadion just two weeks ago. Despite Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, and Kingsley Coman having also missed a spell of matches during that stretch, Bayern has shown no signs of their attack slowing down and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been the man of the hour for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Choupo-Moting has now scored in three consecutive matches for Bayern. He scored in the 5-0 win over SC Freiburg, twice in the 5-2 win over Augsburg, and once in the recent 2-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim. He’s on a hot streak for Bayern, which has also been one of his best ever stretches of returns since he joined from Paris-Saint-Germain. No Robert Lewandowski, no problem! Even with Nagelsmann getting so used to playing a system without a natural striker, he’s shown that, with Choupo-Moting, that’s something he can tactically switch with how well Choupo can play the role and make an impact.
His contract is set to expire this coming June, so Bayern’s front office will face a difficult decision down the stretch as to whether or not they’ll want to offer him at least a one-year contract extension. They haven’t closed the door entirely to investing in a natural striker this winter, but a lot of their responses to those questions came before Choupo-Moting’s recent patch of fine form started.
In this episode of BPW’s Flagship show, Tom and Schnitzel discuss:
- Choupo-Moting’s fine run of form
- Choupo’s presence making Bayern more tactically flexible (playing WITH a striker)
- Should the board give Choupo a one-year extension at some point
- Some of our attackers’ lack of finishing (Sadio Mane, Serge Gnabry)
- Potentially looking at Juventus’ Dušan Vlahović this winter
- Are any players holding back to avoid a pre-World Cup injury?
- What players will Nagelsmann turn to with rotations he has to make for this final hinrunde stretch?
- Will Nagelsmann pick more non-World Cup players (Choupo, Sabitzer, Tel, etc)?
- How we feel about our upcoming Champions League clash against Barcelona (round 2!)
Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @TheBarrelBlog, @tommyadams71, @bfwinnn, and more.
