Bayern Munich news: The aftermath of Bayern vs. St. Pauli; Bayern, Man City, FC Barcelona, Liverpool battling for Marc Guéhi; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s 3-1 win over St. Pauli (Bavarian Football Works)

After a very disappointing showing in the Champions League vs. Arsenal, Bayern Munich needed a bounce-back performance against St. Pauli.

It got that…kind of? Almost? Sort of?

Head coach Vincent Kompany was able to push his boys to a hard-fought 3-1 victory in a game that should have been less scary. Bayern Munich only pulled out the win after two goals in added time.

There is much to talk about, so let’s get moving Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:

• Kim Min-jae stepped in for Dayot Upamecano, who did not even dress due to “load management.” Otherwise, Tom Bischof started over Josip Stanišić at left-back, Raphaël Guerreiro started for Serge Gnabry, and Lennart Karl got the nod over Michael Olise. Meanwhile, Manuel Neuer inexplicably started again over Jonas Urbig. This is not a knock on Neuer, but he does need some downtime and Urbig needs some minutes. This game was the best way to make both of those things happen.

• St. Pauli did not waste time in jumping out in front of Bayern Munich when Mathias Pereira Lage took advantage of some sloppy play from Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich, which allowed Andreas Hountondji to slip behind Kim Min-jae for a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute.

• There is a strong argument that could be made that Neuer made both a physical and mental mistake on the play, but those were just the final mistakes in a series of unfortunate events for the Bavarians.

• The goal did not seem to bother Bayern Munich too much, but the Bavarians would endure a series of would-be goals that did not come to fruition. Karl hit the post in the 23rd minute and Bischof hit the post (off of a deflection) in the 40th minute. There were other near-misses, too, but those were the two most significant attempts.

• As the pressure mounted, it felt like Bayern Munich was eventually going to make St. Pauli crack, but the Bavarians were not at all efficient with their chances. Finally, in the 44th minute, Luis Díaz was either knocked down or fell in the box, but was able to push the ball to Guerreiro, who did not miss his shot. All of a sudden, it was 1-1 and Bayern Munich felt much better about its up-and-down first half.

• Díaz is such an important part of this team.

• The Bavarians, however, fell back into their scoring lull. The team was creating chances, but could not find any way to convert.

• It would be great to see Bischof play an entire game in the central midfield. It is nice that he is getting time at left-back, but that will be ending soon and he needs to start trying to earn more minutes by competing with Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Aleksandar Pavlović.

• Kompany hit his bench to try and spark the attack and it worked in spurts, but nothing was coming of it until added time.

• Kane rocketed a shot off the post in the 80th minute and it seemed as if it was just going to be one of those nights for the Bavarians.

• Kane was not super active again. Is he worn down? Disengaged? Or just having trouble getting into the flow of the game? For what it is worth, he looks into it, but maybe is having some trouble moving?

• Konrad Laimer did not look good.

• Karl was not bad, but it was not his best game, either.

• Kimmich was not horrible in the match, but he does not look right. The ankle injury and a heavy workload seem to be bogging him down. This would have been an ideal match to rest him.

• That said, Kimmich did have the assist on the game-winner by Díaz. The assist was a beautiful diagonal ball into the box from the right-side that hit Díaz in stride for a perfect header goal.

• Bayern Munich would add a final goal when a horrible turnover for St. Pauli resulted in a three-on-one breakaway, which Nicolas Jackson put in to make it 3-1.

• Overall, Bayern Munich did eek out the win, but it will not leave fans feeling more confident. While Bayern Munich did have quite a few makeable misses, it was not an altogether convincing victory. The team looks beat up and beat. That is not an excuse, but just an observation in how they are playing,. The Winterpause cannot get here fast enough, but the Bavarians will have to find a way to battle through this tough stretch of play and hope to not have any losses over the next few weeks. That might be asking a lot, but this team can find a way to gut it out.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:

Bayern, Barcelona, Liverpool and Man City all to compete for Guéhi (The Athletic’s David Ornstein and Seb Stafford-Bloor)

Crystal Palace center-back Marc Guéhi is a wanted man and Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Liverpool, and Manchester City are all going to take a run at the defender:

Marc Guéhi can speak to foreign teams from January 1, while English sides must officially wait until the summer. Bayern, Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester City are among his many admirers. Any suggestion that switching to Liverpool is a formality would be wide of the mark; the situation remains open, the competition fierce, and Guéhi will listen to all interested parties before making his decision. It is anticipated he will end up joining one of those who are expected to challenge for the Champions League trophy.

Guirassy’s release clause is…affordable (ESPN)

Borussia Dortmund could be set to lose striker Serhou Guirassy due to a very affordable release clause of €50 million:

Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy has a release clause that will activate in the summer of 2026 and be worth around €50 million, Sky Sports Deutschland reports. However, the clause is only valid for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. The 29-year-old wants to win trophies so will make his decision based on Dortmund’s performances and would only consider joining a top club, having already turned down €20m-per-year to join Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani is a strong candidate to replace Guirassy if he leaves.

The link to Asllani is very interesting for BVB. Bayern Munich is reportedly interested in the Hoffenheim striker, but BVB could potentially offer him more playing time.

The presence of Harry Kane at Bayern Munich could be a deterrent for Asllani away, but Dortmund at least appears to be preparing for Guirassy’s exit.

“Next to no-chance” Jackson meets numbers for Bayern (The Athletic’s Simon Johnson and Seb Stafford-Bloor)

The prevailing feeling is that Nicolas Jackson is not going to meet any of the thresholds needed for the obligation-to-buy clause to kick in:

There’s next-to-no chance of Nicolas Jackson fulfilling the obligations necessary to make the move to Bayern permanent (40 starts in all competitions), or Bayern choosing to sign him without a major renegotiation of the pre-agreed fee (€65m). But Chelsea have no interest in changing the conditions, they see Jackson as having a high value.

Clubs from the Premier League and across Europe expressed an interest in Jackson before the switch to Bayern was agreed, and there should be a good market for him once again.

As for Jackson, he is happy at Bayern and is determined to make the most of his loan.

It was always unlikely that Jackson would play enough to trigger the clause, but Jackson has not really shown the versatility or level of performance needed to stick around in Bavaria.

Schlotterbeck family is full of Bayern fans (Sport Bild)

FC Barcelona is reportedly very interested in Borussia Dortmund center-back Nico Schlotterbeck. Liverpool and Bayern Munich are also allegedly in the mix as well, but the one club that might have a built-in advantage is Bayern.

Why? Well, because the members of Schlotterbeck family are Bayern Munich fans:

One thing you can’t accuse Borussia Dortmund of is not doing everything they can to keep their future captain. The club’s management maintains constant contact with Nico Schlotterbeck’s (25) representatives, and coach Niko Kovac (54) involves the defender in most of his decisions to underline his high standing.

Schlotterbeck’s contract runs until 2026, the crucial phase of the negotiations is now beginning – in which BVB does not have the best cards.

So what now? Those in charge at Borussia Dortmund are also aware that Schlotterbeck has very high ambitions and wants to play for a club that ranks among Europe’s elite. Bayern Munich is also frequently mentioned when it comes to his future.

Even during his transfer to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, the connections were closer than previously thought. According to SPORT BILD, Schlotterbeck even visited former Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic (48) at his home to discuss a move to the record champions. However, Schlotterbeck had already given his word to BVB at that time – a word he didn’t want to break.

A transfer to Munich remains at least a topic of whispers, as the player would be virtually guaranteed a title there. Furthermore, the majority of his family have always been Bayern fans. The question remains, however, whether the league leaders would even make a move. The bosses, led by sporting director Max Eberl (52), want to wait and see if they can secure a contract extension with defender Dayot Upamecano (27).

Chelsea wants Maignan (TEAMtalk)

Chelsea could be looking to improve its goalkeeper position and could be eyeing a move for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan:

Chelsea are going to monitor Mike Maignan’s contract situation at AC Milan as they assess their long-term goalkeeping plans, TEAMtalk understands, and his potential signing could have big ramifications for two Blues stars.

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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