Five Observations from Bayern’s jaw-dropping 3-2 comeback vs. Freiburg

The Easter Bunny arrived, but instead of sweet treats, it brought a mind-boggling Bayern Munich comeback after being two goals down — even better.

Rough game, stunning comeback

Fans expecting a pleasant return from the international break would have been left bitterly disappointed after an underwhelming Bayern performance but it was expected for a few compounding reasons

Firstly, after international breaks, the Bayern machine often needs a bit of oil to get moving in its original, fluid state. Secondly, ahead of a fixture as momentous as Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarterfinal, Vincent Kompany was always going to feature a heavily rotated squad against Freiburg — turning, what would originally be, a well-oiled machine into a rusty one at best. Thirdly, Vincent Kompany emphasized that Bayern were fully-focused on Freiburg, but when Madrid lies in wait just a few days later, can you ever truly be fully-focused on what is right in front of you?

The combination of the international break, rotated squad, and Champions League anticipation proved to be Bayern’s greatest challenges, but Die Rekordmeister proved why you can never count them out, producing what could be their best comeback of the season.

Bayern didn’t deserve to win

Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic Bayern won, but it’s not often they have been the inferior side throughout this season — against Freiburg they were.

After what looked to be a sharp start, Freiburg took complete control of the game. The Breisgau-Brasilianer found the perfect balance between a suffocating high-press — that squeezed mistakes out of a disjointed Bayern — and a disciplined low-block that nullified Die Rekordmeister’s opportunities in transition. The result was a dominant performance that could have easily seen Bayern concede three goals, or more.

Bayern’s fire-power off the bench was enough to save them in the end of the day, but Freiburg will certainly be feeling sorry for themselves walking away without a single point.

The result never mattered

But expecting anything less than a win at the almighty, powerful Bayen Munich is a sin! Well, then call me a sinner.

Kompany can go on about the full focus being on Freiburg, but coming into the game with a nine-point lead in the Bundesliga, a B-team peppered with one or two starters, and a Quarterfinal against the most successful Champions League team of all time on the horizon — the priority is clear, and that’s okay. Besides, there was only one real result that mattered in this game: 0 injuries. And Bayern, managed to escape that fate.

Now lets hope the rest was worth it by crushing Madrid in front of their home fans at the Bernabéu on Tuesday.

This Bayern squad is in need of spring cleaning

On occasion this season, Leon Goretzka and Raphaël Guerreiro have proven their worth as reliable depth pieces for Bayern. The problem: the rarity between occasions seems to be increasing.

Goretzka and Guerreiro were nothing more than placeholders against Freiburg. They didn’t necessarily do anything bad, they didn’t necessarily do anything good — they just didn’t do anything.

While Goretzka and Guerreiro will both serve their purpose for the remainder of the season, Bayern are making a wise decision moving the out-of-contract pair on this Summer. The vacancies left by Goretzka and Guerreiro’s departure could provide a prime opportunity to blood more academy talent into the first-team setup — a feat Kompany has reveled in this season.

Tom Bischof’s time is not later, it’s now

The whole season, Tom Bischof, one of Bayern’s top-talents has been played out of position, plugging the ever-emerging holes of a paper-thin squad.

Against Freiburg, Bischof didn’t just prove that he deserves to be on the pitch more often, he deserves to play in his preferred position — a chance he will hopefully get considering Goretzka’s upcoming departure.

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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