Four Observations from Bayern Munich’s 2-1 win against Aston Villa

Bayern Munich are the champions of the Audi Football Summit.

Bayern faced Aston Villa, a side they have lost to twice in the UEFA Champions League, and most recently in 2024. This time, the stakes are much lower as the Audi Cup is merely a friendly. Nonetheless the Bavarians went in with the intent of winning and so they did. The first goal came from a free-kick and was ultimately scored by Kim Min-Jae and the second was a phenomenal shot from Luis Díaz. Though they conceded a goal towards the end of the game, Manuel Neuer’s efforts ensured that Bayern went home with a win and a trophy. Here are the observations from the game.

It was a showdown…kind of

The stakes may have been low, but manager Vincent Kompany certainly treated the game a bit differently than the fixtures prior. He fielded a starting lineup with only three players from Bayern II— Arijon Ibrahimović, Tim Binder, and Maycon Cardozo. Cardozo plays a pretty physical game and has a few errors but his ceiling is rather high. Binder plays fast-paced, direct football and enjoys attacking and was one of the bright spots from the unfortunate loss against Wiesbaden.

From the beginning, it was evident that Bayern were the dominant side. Barring a few questionable decisions, they were attacking and thriving. It was Villa’s haphazard yet determined defending that kept the Bavarians at bay for the longest. Villa did not offer much tactically, but were relentless and brought in their numbers to defend. A shapeless bus parked in the box left Bayern unable to score from open-play for the longest time. To their credit, the side from Birmingham too had fielded partly B-team players with a few starters like Matty Cash, Victor Lindelöf, Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendía, Pau Torres and Ian Maatsen. A pattern becomes evident — all of the seasoned players on Villa’s side were defenders and midfielders, which is why they were able to hold their own in their box, if not attack too well. The goalkeeper Marco Bizot deserves a shout for saving two crucial shots nearing half-time.

The best in Bayern’s roster was arguably Tom Bischof. It is simply unbelievable that a player of his caliber did not get called up to the World Cup. He held the team together structurally and his free kicks are near-perfect. It was in fact, his free-kick that Kim Min-Jae scored from. He’s consistently in the right places to get the ball, he controlled the game tempo and he somehow always knows where the next pass goes. Decision makers like that DESERVE to start games in their natural position.

As for the rest, there is not much to say. Kim Min-jae and Jonathan Tah both had modestly easy games. Nathaniel Brown was decent. Aleksander Pavlović continues to prove that he is an exceptional homegrown midfielder.

But why was Konrad Laimer playing striker?

“But why was he playing there?”

One can only wonder why Konrad Laimer was the striker in this fixture. Laimer looked confused in his position, not sure on how far he should go up and in fact, was often alongside Ibrahimović who looked more comfortable up top than the Austrian.

If I am to understand correctly, Laimer was playing up top to make space for Sacha Boey, who is perhaps getting one last chance at proving himself (or at least showcasing himself for a transfer).

But, given how spectacularly Boey proceeded to blow this chance, it would have made more sense to rearrange the setup. The Frenchman is mediocre at his position and was in fact the weakest link in the entire team — much worse than an out-of-position Laimer. Villa’s few attacks went through his side and he had little to offer even in attack.

Boey’s substitution, too, came only at around the 70th minute, which makes me wonder how and why Kompany trusted him to play for much longer than Laimer who was subbed off for Josip Stanišić at half-time. Come on Vinny, tell us what’s happening.

Luis Díaz came to play. (Well, he did. That’s his job. But you get what I mean.)

Díaz singlehandedly turned Bayern from modestly threatening to a dangerous side to be reckoned by. Villa’s compact defending, which looked threatening in the first half, was easily handled by Díaz, perhaps owing to his experience in having played them before. The Colombian gave the opposition very little space and very little time — a dangerous combination.

His goal was purely testament to the quality he brings to the team. The assist came off Ibrahimović, who crossed from the right to Díaz, who then dribbled into the box. The strike that he scored was breathtaking, a powerful shot with the perfect curl on it.

The game would not have been won without his presence. Not just because of his goal, but because of what his presence gave the team.

But then, Bayern chose to indulge in a comedy of errors instead of holding onto this momentum.

The drastic drop in Bayern’s quality in the last 15 minutes resulted in an embarrassing few situations. Villa had fresh legs on, and Bayern’s intensity dropped perhaps because of the comfortable two-goal lead. This is where Villa pulled one back.

Substitute João Gomes, who had just completed his transfer from Wolves to Villa made all the difference. He was fast in the box and largely benefitted from the errors and loose balls Bayern were leaving in the box. This led to a series of interventions from Manuel Neuer, whose reaction time saved the scoreline. However, there is only so much Neuer can do, and with a shot like what Gomes brought in his goal, it is rather difficult for a keeper to get on top of it.

The Bavarians chose to relax at a point when their opposition was still on the hunt. And this cannot happen again.