FC Bayern Munich ended 2023 with a win. In the 2-1 (2-1) draw at VfL Wolfsburg, the record champions already led comfortably thanks to Jamal Musiala and a dream goal from Harry Kane, but allowed the opponent to get close again.
There has been a lot of discussion about Thomas Müller’s role in the past few weeks. Under Thomas Tuchel, the veteran star was not part of the first guard in most cases – but before the game in Wolfsburg, the club sent a sign of how important Müller is to FC Bayern with his contract extension. And the offensive player also underlined this at the end of the football year.
Müller was directly involved in the first dangerous scenes, but at first he was not lucky. After a solo by Leroy Sané, the national player twice failed to push the ball over the line from close range. Raphael Guerreiro then missed the opponent’s goal after Müller’s back pass (27th). Shortly afterwards it got even closer when Müller hit the crossbar with his head (32′).
Musiala and Kane exploit Müller’s passes
The 34-year-old failed as an enforcer, but the most successful assist provider in Bundesliga history shone again as such. Just one minute after his missed great chance, Müller crossed precisely to Jamal Musiala, who headed the ball to make it 1-0 for Bayern (33′). And he also prepared the 2-0 – although the goal can be described as the goalscorer’s sole brilliant achievement. Harry Kane took the measure from 22 meters and flicked the ball into the corner with his right foot (43′).
Coach Thomas Tuchel’s team was comfortably in the lead, but then slacked off shortly before half-time. The defensive midfield, which was again missing Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, let Maximilian Arnold pass, who in turn showed that, like Kane, he has an outstanding long-range shot. The Wolfsburg pacer scored the goal from around 23 meters and gave Manuel Neuer no chance (45th + 1).
Wolfsburg puts pressure on them – but to no avail
This goal gave the hosts a boost. Munich had problems at the beginning of the second half and was lucky in some situations that the “Wolves” were unable to equalize. Neuer had to save with a foot defense against Rogerio (58th), and in two other situations all that was missing was the last pass towards VfL striker Jonas Wind.
Bayern didn’t manage to be as dominant as in the first half, but at least they survived Wolfsburg’s first momentum and were able to neutralize the game. The hosts continued to run, but were no longer able to get into the dangerous areas. Because Munich didn’t use its counterattacks consistently, the game remained open.
Bayern remains on Leverkusen’s heels
But the “Wolves” did not take advantage of the opportunity that Bayern gave them with their blackout shortly before half-time and the poor performance in the second half. Coach Niko Kovac’s team’s efforts were evident until the final whistle, but they lacked the quality in the final third to create chances for an equalizer. And so Wolfsburg goes into the new year with a misery of three defeats from the last four competitive games.
For Munich, on the other hand, 2023 ends successfully, but as in the past few months, they were far from their usual sovereignty. A circumstance that may also have something to do with the tense personnel situation.
“We are tired“said Tuchel on the Sportschau microphone after the game.”It was still a good game, especially in the first half. We then had to fight and bite and that is allowed sometimes.“
With the win, the record champions remain the first pursuer of league leaders Bayer Leverkusen and are four points behind in a catch-up game (against Union Berlin). In order to catch up, Bayern definitely need an increase in performance – this applies to the overall impression of the first half of the season, but also to the performance in Wolfsburg.