Die Folgen: Bayern’s 2-1 win over Stuttgart (Bavarian Football Works)
It was almost a lazy, cruise-controlled win, but Bayern Munich had to go and ruin it by conceding a late goal and then almost falling apart against VfB Stuttgart. The signs are promising ahead of the crucial Champions League game vs PSG, however as noted by the coach and Goretzka, Bayern need to work on closing out the game.
- Julian Nagelsmann effectively telegraphed his entire starting XI for Christophe Galtier to examine in the upcoming days. Could that end up being a mistake?
- It’s funny how Alphonso Davies had one of his best games of the season as soon as Chuck went on vacation.
- Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane both make around 18m euros a year and they looked woeful out there. Their inconsistency has already been noticed by the bosses and more games like these will not help their case.
- After a solid defensive outing versus Union Berlin, Leon Goretzka seemingly reverted to his usual (somewhat lazy) self when playing against Stuttgart. While he may have just been saving energy ahead of the CL game, the team suffers defensively for it.
- Joshua Kimmich has leveled up ever since the first PSG game. He seems to be back to his world class best right now.
If you want more analysis then there’s always our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, and Postgame Podcast, please listen or give them a look.
Juventus still haven’t paid Dybala his owed wages (La Gazetta dello Sport)
Remember the illegal under-the-table payments made by Juventus during the 2020 pandemic — the one that could get Matthijs de Ligt banned for 30 days or more? Turns out, Juve are so broke that they haven’t even paid out the money yet.
Or at least that’s the case with Paulo Dybala. According to the Argentinian and his lawyer, the Bianconeri have failed to pay the wages that were deferred in 2020 and the player will be seeking damages. However Dybala, who currently plies his trade at AS Roma, says he doesn’t want to sue his former employer.
“I want my money back but without filing any lawsuit, avoiding problems for me and Juventus,” concluded the 29-year-old.
There’s a lot more to this story, including a report that Juve still owe Cristiano Ronaldo up to 19.9m euros from the time he played for them. Now you can see why Andrea Agnelli wanted a European Super League. The man couldn’t even pay his players properly.
Like Dybala, De Ligt also left Juventus last summer. Is he still owed money by Juventus? Someone should ask him at a press conference, preferably after PSG.
Suarez: “We told Neymar that if you want to win everything, then stay” (Placar)
Speaking to Brazilian magazine Placard, former FC Barcelona striker Luis Sruarez spoke about Neymar and explained how he and Leo Messi tried to keep the Brazilian superstar from moving to PSG. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
Luisito, the new star of Grêmio and Brazilian football, spoke about how he and Messi tried to advise his former teammate to stay:
“I didn’t like to talk about it very much, but there came a time when it was already a big ball, so we went to talk to Neymar and said: ‘Ney, if you want to win everything stay here with us’”, said the player.
“He would listen to us and say ‘yes, yes, I want to stay.’ And then there are all the surroundings that are sometimes difficult to control. We, as friends, advise him to stay, but it’s his decision, his family’s. We said: ‘Neymar, England is better. [Manchester] City, that football will be better there. But in France?’
Suarez added that Neymar “would have won a Ballon d’Or” if he stayed at Barcelona. It’s interesting that, despite warning his friend about the move, Leo Messi would eventually follow the Brazilian to the French capital after Barcelona could no longer afford to keep the Argentine around.
Of course, the two situations are completely different. Neymar left when Barca were at their height, and PSG paid an absolute king’s ransom to force him to switch. Messi, meanwhile, had every intention of continuing for Barca, but the club’s financial situation forced him to look elsewhere.
As PSG and Bayern Munich gear up to face each other in the Champions League this upcoming week, maybe Neymar will be reminded of the warning Suarez gave him. If he fails to win a CL there, then his move will forever be considered a failure. Due to his injury, he’ll be watching his teammates try to overturn the deficit on TV or from the stands.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 34 (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich is at a key juncture of its season.
With big matches just about every week, plus a roster that is likely to be tweaked this summer, there is nary a day that goes by without some sort of news breaking.
This week, there was plenty to discuss and we had no shortage of topics. Here is what we have on tap for this episode:
- The news that Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry could be on the way out at Bayern Munich.
- Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s new deal and what it means moving forward.
- Bayern Munich’s new clubhouse punishment system.
- Some thoughts on the PSG tilt and why this is such a key moment for Julian Nagelsmann.
- A recap of the latest episode of The Last of Us.
The records keep tumbling for Thomas Muller (OptaFranz)
Thomas Muller now has 300 goal contributions in the Bundesliga. To think that some people want this man to be benched and “phased out” …