Bayern Munich 6-2 Mainz: Initial reactions and observations

Initial reactions and observations

Bayern Munich came to conquer and they did. Despite the goals conceded, Julian Nagelsmann will be happy with his team’s performance. Ulreich aside, almost every player was flawless.
Choupo-Moting is going to give Haaland and Lewandowski some stern competition if he keeps scoring like this.
Mathys Tel scores again! He needs to start against Inter Milan, maybe on the left for Sadio Mane.
Serge Gnabry is 10x the player when he plays in conjunction with Mane.
Noussair Mazraoui is a gem, his role as an inverted fullback is perfect for his talents.

Interested in more analysis of the game? We talk about the tactical changes Julian Nagelsmann has made to make Bayern Munich so much more threatening in our postgame podcast. Listen to it below or on Spotify.

As always, we appreciate all the support!

Full time: Bayern Munich 6-2 Mainz 05.

86’ — GOOOOOOAL! Choupo-Moting makes it 6-2!

82’ — Goal. Keeper error from Ulreich. Mainz make it 5-2.

79’ — GOOOOOOOOAL! Mathys Tel makes it 5-1!

71’ — Sub: Jamal Musiala off to roaring applause from the Allianz Arena. Gravenberch on.

57’ — GOOOOOOOOAL! Leon Goretzka makes it 4-1 to Bayern! Mane assist!

45’ — The second half is underway, Matthijs de Ligt is off for Benjamin Pavard. Injury? Maybe.

Halftime: Mainz score right at the half to make it 3-1. Bayern Munich still lead.

45’+2’ — Penalty. Mainz are awarded one from the spot, but Sven Ulreich saves!

42’ — Penalty! After a long VAR check a penalty is awarded to Sadio Mane. He has his pen saved but scores the rebound.

27’ — GOOOOOOOOOAL! Jamal Musiala makes it 2-0! Excellent combination goal!

15’ — 1 shot on target from Mainz, more than Barcelona so far.

4’ — GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Serge Gnabry makes it 1-0 to Bayern Munich!

Kickoff: We’re underway in Munich!

One hour until kickoff: We have lineups! Nagelsmann starts Bayern Munich in a 4-2-3-1 with Noussair Mazraoui continuing in place of Benjamin Pavard at right-back. Otherwise it’s just what we expected, with Choupo-Moting up top, Sadio Mane on the left, Serge Gnabry on the right, and Jamal Musiala in the middle. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka start in midfield as before.

Eleven matchdays have been played and Bayern Munich lead the Bundesliga in almost every metric. Goals scored, goals conceded, goal difference — they’re all in the Bavarians’ favor. So why aren’t they first? It’s because of a little club named Union Berlin.

Standing atop the Bundesliga and one point ahead of mighty Bayern Munich, Union are showing that this year’s league campaign will not be a pushover. So when Bayern host Mainz today, Julian Nagelsmann needs all three points. He will want his players going to the World Cup only after topping the league table.

Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Lucas Hernandez, and Leroy Sane are all missing today. That’s more quality than most Bundesliga teams have in their entire roster. However, the quality gap has never stopped Bo Svensson and his mercurial Mainz team from beating Bayern in the past. They will be out to do so again, and it’s up to the likes of Jamal Musiala, Matthijs de Ligt, Dayot Upamecano, and co. to stop them.

It’s Bayern time.

While you’re waiting for the game, why not check out our preview podcast? Listen to it below or on Spotify.

Match Info

Location: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany

Time: 3:30 pm local time, 9:30 am EST

TV/streaming: ESPN+, Find Your Country

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