FC Bayern let one slip away vs. Hamburger SV.
Die Folgen: Bayern’s 2-2 draw with HSV (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich was — again — not at its best in a road game against Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga.
While there was a brief period that felt like the Bavarians could pull away from Der Dino, it never came to fruition as Bayern Munich eventually succumbed to a 2-2 draw with the home side. There is a lot to talk about, so lets get to it, here are some quick hitters on the match:
- As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:
- Head coach Vincent Kompany made seven changes to his lineup from Wednesday vs. PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. The biggest news was that Josip Stanišić returned to the lineup after a spell battling an injury. In addition, Alphonso Davies and Kim Min-jae each were called back into the starting XI, while Lennart Karl and Serge Gnabry also got the nod. Luis Díaz took a rare seat on the bench.
- The Volksparkstadion got the crowd moving with “Sandstorm” in the pregame lead up to things. HSV must be distributing glow sticks and “e-bombs” to the crowd to really get them in the mood. I kid, I kid.
- In the 6th minute, Bayern Munich allowed Hamburger SV’s Luka Vušković to get free for a header on a corner, but he could not convert. Maybe Bayern Munich should have thought harder about making sure he was marked.
- In the game’s opening minutes, HSV was the aggressor and the better side, which was a bit shocking to see.
- Karl had a great look in the 16th minute, but his attempt was saved by HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes.
- In the 23rd minute HSV’s Nicolás Capaldo tested Manuel Neuer from close range, but the veteran goalkeeper was up to the task.
- Kimmich’s 28th minute attempt rattled off the woodwork, but it should have been a goal.
- In the 32nd minute, Kimmich was hit with a very soft foul in the box on Nicolai Remberg, which set up a penalty kick for Fábio Vieira. Vieira went hard and low to his left and Neuer just could not get there. Just like that HSV took a 1-0 lead.
- It was a very weak call…Charmin soft.
- Bayern Munich would respond just eight minutes later in the 42nd minute when Aleksandar Pavlović sent in Gnabry, who crossed to Kimmich, who got a tap on the ball to Kane, who turned and rifled it into the net from close range to knot the game at 1-1.
- Seconds later, Gnabry had a goal waved off due to an offside call. At a minimum, Bayern Munich started to take the game more seriously.
- Neuer was the squad’s best player in the half. The second half was not nearly as good for him, though.
- Would like to see Karl make smarter decisions at times, but you also don’t want to coach the aggressive mindset out of him. It is a delicate balance that Kompany has to manage with his precocious youngster.
- It was not a great half for Bayern Munich overall, but HSV was extremely energetic and focused. There was, however, serious doubt that the home side could maintain that kind of performance for a full 90 minutes as the teams entered the locker room for halftime.
- Díaz stepped in for Karl at halftime and immediately scored. Gnabry found Olise, who dribbled and slid a great pass to a cutting Díaz, who did not miss.
- Yup, it happened that quickly…in the 46th minute.
- In the 50th minute, Vieira had a golden opportunity to tie the game moments later, but fired his attempt wide.
- It might be me, but Hamburger SV defender — and rumored Bayern Munich transfer target — Luka Vušković is pretty damn good. He barely missed a bicycle kick and minutes later ran into a header for a goal. Yeah, the kid picked a pretty damn good time to bring a solid performance.
- On the goal, Stanišić had a moment that he will likely want back as he got torched by William Mikelbrencis, who sent a cross into Vušković, who took advantage of a napping Davies on the play. It was a bad moment for the outside-backs there.
- Davies, though, would bounce-back as he made an insane backtracking run to prevent a score with a goal-line clearance in the 75th minute after Neuer made an ill-advised charge off his line. For as much as Davies was unaware on the Vušković goal, he made up for it on what was a spectacular play.
- In the 81st minute, Kane sprung Stanišić, who attempted a cross (blocked), rather than shoot. The decision made no sense, especially considering the timing.
- HSV did a good job of neutralizing Kane in the second half and Bayern Munich lets its frustrations with itself, the referee, and the game itself overcome things at the end.
- Overall, Bayern Munich failed to put a complete effort together and fell victim to an inferior squad. There will be some panic and a lot of frustration from fans, but this is likely a necessary step on the team’s journey. After eschewing a true rotation earlier in the season, Kompany is now attempting to make up for lost time. There will be growing pains and it will not always look pretty, but the team needs to endure it. This is a championship-level team, but it needs to be healthy to be at its best. Kompany might be late to accepting the need to rotate, but better late than never, right?
If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:
Ortega to Forest (Fabrizio Romano)
After much speculation, German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega made the move from Manchester City to Nottingham Forest:
Real, Bayern competing for Dalot? (Sports Boom’s Ekrem Konur)
According to a report from Sports Boom writer Ekrem Konur, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are both taking a close look at Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot:
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are eyeing Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot as a solution to their defensive woes. Madrid sees him as the ideal replacement for injury-prone Trent Alexander-Arnold, while Bayern seeks to strengthen their right-back rotation. Despite interest, Dalot remains committed to United. An intense bidding war is expected in the Summer 2026 transfer window.
In Bavaria, the situation at Bayern Munich has reached a breaking point as the club’s right-back rotation is decimated by a brutal injury list.
Josip Stanisic, sidelined with ankle ligament damage, and Konrad Laimer, suffering a calf tear, are both ruled out until at least mid-February, leaving Vincent Kompany with a significant gap in his defensive line.
Meanwhile, Sacha Boey, having failed to reach the required performance levels, has officially been placed on the transfer list.
Bayern have reportedly reached out through formal channels to assess Dalot’s valuation and to determine if there is any “unrest” that could be exploited to lure him to the Bundesliga.
This is not the first time that Bayern Munich has been linked to Diogo Dalot, so there is a possibility that the Bavarians could be looking at the summer transfer window as a way to bring in Dalot and push Konrad Laimer back to the central midfield (to take Leon Goretzka’s spot).
Possible? Yes. Likely? Eh, we are not so sure about all of that.
Dumfries to LFC? (ESPN)
Liverpool could be looking to bring in Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries to take the place of injured former Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong:
Liverpool have made an initial inquiry to Internazionale about signing right back Denzel Dumfries, as reported by Sky Sports Italia. The 29-year-old Netherlands international has struggled with an ankle injury since November and any negotiations will depend on the severity of Jeremie Frimpong’s injury. But Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool’s search won’t see them sign Feyenoord’s Givairo Read, although Bayern Munich and Manchester City remain keen on a summer move for the 19-year-old.
Falk says no talks with Kane yet (Sport Bild’s Christian Falk)
Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk says that Bayern Munich has not engaged in any talks with Harry Kane over a contract extension just yet:
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern have opened contract talks with Harry Kane. I know that Max Eberl told reporters that there are always talks with Harry Kane – but I know for a fact that there are negotiations at the moment. So, both sides are optimistic that there will be a new contract, but there have yet to be official talks. Bayern want to keep the Englishman, and I think they will keep him, as Harry Kane is feeling very happy in Munich. But at the moment: negotiations have not started.
Kramarić keeps going (Opta Franz)
Why would anyone doubt Andrej Kramarić at this point? We definitely would not:
Juve still wants Kolo Muani (ESPN)
Juventus wants to bring former Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani:
Juventus are not giving up on the prospect of signing Paris Saint-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani, who is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, says Tuttosport. Juve are pushing especially hard to land the striker, who would like to return to Juventus if Spurs agree to end his loan. Talks with PSG are reported to be “lively and fruitful,” but if a deal can’t be completed they could turn to Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee or bring in FC Como loanee Álvaro Morata from AC Milan.
Milan, Roma, Napoli all want Drăgușin (ESPN)
Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Drăgușin could be headed back to Italy:
AC Milan have held a lengthy meeting with the representatives of Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin, Calciomercato reports. The centre-back is also wanted by AS Roma and Napoli, and could still be on the move before the January transfer window slams shut. However, he isn’t the only defender on Milan’s shortlist, as Manchester City’s Nathan Aké continues to be a player of interest. It’s not currently known whether City boss Pep Guardiola would sanction his exit this close to the end of the window.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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Category: General Sports
