Three days before their match at the Parc des Princes, in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, Bayern did not really need to work against Bochum (3-0), 15th and first non-relegation . The Bundesliga leader will undoubtedly have to show another face, especially in terms of intensity against PSG. But he still offered himself an ideal preparation with a management of the workforce in terms of playing time and without deploring any physical glitches among his players.
Without Kimmich, suspended, in addition to the long-term injuries (Neuer, Mané, Hernandez, Gravenbach) and Mazraoui (inflammation of the pericardium), Julian Nagelsmann opts for a 4-2-3-1 (Sommer – Cancelo, De Ligt, Upamecano, Pavard – Musiala, Goretzka – Gnabry, Müller, Sané – Choupo-Moting). Kingsley Coman, author of a double last Sunday in Wolfsburg (4-2) starts on the bench, just like Alphonso Davies.
In the first period, Bayern stumbled for a long time on the defense of Bochum, the worst in the Bundesliga. It takes a big mistake from Janko, who misses his back pass for his goalkeeper Riemann, to see Müller unblock the situation. The striker benefits from a favorable counter with the goalkeeper to score his 4th goal of the season (1-0, 40th).
Coman comes in and scores
But the best attack in Europe (59 goals now in the Bundesliga) adds two new goals in the second half. Four minutes after coming into play, Coman first concluded a great collective action (2-0, 64th), then Serge Gnabry converted a penalty (3-0, 74th). Nagelsmann rotates his team by including (67th) the former Rennes and Ile-de-France (Villiers-le-Bel, Jeunesse Aubervilliers, Paris FC, Montrouge) Mathys Tel (17) and Arijon Ibrahimovic, (nothing to do with the Swedish), also 17, who is making a great debut in the Bundesliga. Tel and Ibrahimovic could also have increased the score further at the end of the match.
Overall, Bayern have not been very flamboyant. But he presents a sheet of stats with 25 strikes including 12 on target. This figure shows his influence on the game. Bochum goalkeeper Riemann made eight saves. Without him, the score could have been heavier. After a sluggish start to the year (3 draws, 1 win), the leader of the Bundesliga is building up confidence with this easy victory.