Initial reactions and observations

Bayern were dire. Apart from Alphonso Davies, no one can say they had a good game.

Jerome Boateng has completely checked out. There’s no way he can start in an actual game of any importance — he is a disaster waiting to happen.

The situation on the wings was visible for all to see. Without Coman and Gnabry, Bayern lack any sort of bite, and there’s only so much Davies can do to compensate.

A three man midfield just doesn’t work. Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Corentin Tolisso simply couldn’t play past Nurnberg’s (rather gentle) press, necessitating the use of long balls. Coaches need to bin the 4-3-3, it is folly.

The kids played like kids. nothing to see there. The scoreline is bad, but will the Bayern bosses decide to bring in some winter reinforcements?

Full time! Bayern lost 5:2

87’ — Good shot from distance from Zirkzee. Goalie saved it

85’ — Goal for Bayern! Tillman scores after Batista-Maier crossed the ball

83’ — Sven Ulreich saves from close range.

77’ — Nurnberg score another! 5:1 but it should have been ruled out because of offside.

72’ — Penalty for Bayern, but Cuisance didn’t use the chance.

71’ — Huge mistake in Bayern’s box, but luckily Nurnberg didn’t use the chance to score.

69’ — Good chance for Bayern, but keeper saved the shot

66’ — Finally a shot for Bayern. Cuisance’s free-kick shot went wide

64’ — Bayern look clueless and are struggling. Midfield is basically non existent

60’ — Yet another goal for Nurnberg. Four quick counter attacks and four goals...

57’ — Another goal by Nurnberg. 3:1 now

52’ — Nurnberg are looking dangerous and already made a couple of chances

51’ — Couple of substitutions during the half-time break. I see Zirkzee, Richards, Mai, Tillman, Singh and Ulreich.

46’ — Goal for Nurnberg after just 30 seconds... Total mess

Second half is underway!

Halftime observations!

Lack of starting players is noticeable

Work-rate is high for a friendly match. Both teams are playing offensively and are trying to take control over the match. Muller is specially active (like always)

Boateng can’t seem to find his game. He keeps getting outplayed by Nurnberg attackers and his lack of pace is taking a toll for Bayern’s goal.

Good attacking combinations — Goretzka seems to play a key role in Bayern’s build up play and does his job very well.

Halftime! Interesting first half with two goals.

42’ — Shot from distance from Nurnberg, but it goes straight into Neuer.

40’ — Shot from Goretzka after a corner, but the keeper catches it with ease

34’ — Goal for Bayern! Davies scores after an amazing run and double pass.

32’ — Good pass from Muller to Coutinho, but the Brazilian didn’t impress with his shot.

31’ — HUGE chance for Bayern. Davies was in front of goal, but decided to pass the ball and the defender cut it out.

27’ — Dangerous attack from Nurnberg, Neuer managed to save it. Boateng (again) failed to mark his opponent

26’ — Cross by Davies and a bicycle kick by Goretzka, but the shot went straight into the keeper.

22’ — Goal for Nurnberg. Boateng didn’t follow the counter attack.

20’ — Now a good chance for Bayern. Fast counter attack, but Perišić’s shot was too high

18’ — A very good chance for Nurnberg from corner, but the ball luckily went wide.

17’ — Good cross from Davies, but the defender manages to clear it somehow

15’ — Good pressing from the Bavarian and already a couple of dangerous chances.

Kickoff!

Lineups: Hansi Flick opts for a strong lineup to start the game. No Lewandowski, however.

The winter break is almost over, and Bayern Munich have returned to Germany for the final leg of preparations before the Bundesliga restarts on Sunday. First up is a friendly game against local rivals 1. FC Nurnberg, who currently play in the 2.Bundesliga.

Since this is a friendly, expect pretty much every first team player to see some action, and a lot of subs. Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Javi Martinez, and Niklas Sule are all injured and won’t be taking part, while Robert Lewandowski and Lucas Hernandez are still questionable owing to their recent return from injury (in Lewy’s case, a groin surgery).

Given the state of the club’s injury situation, this would be a good time for Flick to try out some youngsters in certain attacking positions, such as Joshua Zirkzee, Sarpreet Singh, and Oliver Batista Meier. This will be our first opportunity to see how Bayern have been shaping up over the course of the winter training camp in Qatar. Do “optimal training conditions” really make a difference? We shall see.

Match Info

Location: Max-Morlock Stadium, Nuremberg, Germany

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

TV/streaming: Fubo.tv, Find Your Country

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