After the departure of Robert Lewandowski, Julian Nagelsmann tried different variants without a real nine at FC Bayern. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting gets his chance as a striker against SC Freiburg – and uses it. Advice from Leon Goretzka and a prophecy from Marcel Sabitzer also helped him to get the praise he deserved afterwards.
After his goal, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting ran towards the bench, jubilant and laughing. Finally, the FC Bayern attacker had to high five with those who had predicted his goal.
“We joked a bit before the game. Stani and I said that he would reward himself today and score a goal,” Marcel Sabitzer explained to him and Josip after the 5-0 win against SC Freiburg Choupo-Motings Extratour stanisic “He got the chance from the start and took it. And strikers who score are good for any team.”
How good was impressive to observe on this warm autumn evening in the Allianz Arena. Thanks to a highly concentrated performance, Bayern played their way against Freiburg, who were by no means desolate but at crucial moments not quite fresh, into a goal frenzy that has been seen more often in recent years but has only rarely been shown this season. Choupo-Moting was a key factor in this.
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann tried a lot to compensate for the departure of Robert Lewandowski. With false nines, scoring should be spread across multiple shoulders. But what worked at the beginning of the season petered out in the end – also because a target player was sometimes missing at the front line. Nagelsmann returned to the classic variant on Sunday.
Julian Nagelsmann promises Choupo-Moting a place in the starting XI
For the first time ever, Choupo-Moting was in the starting XI this season. And after his performance, which ended in the 65th minute with a standing ovation when he was substituted, it should not have been his last appearance from the start. “We also have a few other good players, but if you play like that, then he will also play on Wednesday,” said Nagelsmann, referring to the DFB Cup game in Augsburg, where Thomas Müller (back problems) could miss again .
Choupo-Moting was directly or indirectly involved in all four goals in which he was on the pitch. Before the opening goal, he secured the ball in the penalty area before sending crosser Alphonso Davies down with a pass. He made it 2-0 himself, he put the 3-0 on Leroy Sané with a one-two and before the 4-0 he pulled his guard Matthias Ginter out of the Freiburg back four with a run back to the center line, giving goal scorer Sadio Mané a clear run .
Gnabry described his offensive colleague as the “best sole player”. “He’s incredibly good at holding the ball. Whether it’s with the sole or with one-touch. He made a great game.” Board member for sport Hasan Salihamidzic was also enthusiastic: “He was like a wall and always let himself be played well. And he scored a goal. He played a really good game, keep it up.”
FC Bayern: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting remains modest
Nagelsmann also praised his striker as an “extremely good target player”. “Choupo was gone for a long time last season, missed many weeks due to a variety of things. Now he’s made a good comeback and is having a very good phase,” said Nagelsmann. Actually, he would have deserved to celebrate his starting XI debut earlier this season.
Choupo-Moting, who since moving from Paris Saint-Germain to FC Bayern in 2020 has played his role as a backup up front behind Lewandowski in an exemplary manner, has remained modest and did not want his performance to be understood as a letter of application.
“We have a very good team with a lot of quality. That’s part of it. There’s a lot of media talk. That’s okay. Everyone has their opinion and everyone is allowed to express themselves. But I know what I’m capable of and that I’m part of the team can help. Julian knows that I see it that way – and I told him that too. All the better that it worked out. Of course I want to keep playing a lot. But the most important thing is to be successful with the team,” said the 33-year-old DAZN.
Nine discussion for Leon Goretzka “a bit idle”
He wants to continue to draw attention to himself with good training performance. Choupo-Moting also received encouragement from Leon Goretzka, who, like the attacker, missed the start of the season due to injury. “In the pre-season, I was with him in rehab, so we had a lot of time to talk,” reported Goretzka. He finally said to Choupo-Moting: “I’m one hundred percent sure that we will need you this season. Whether it’s 20 minutes in which we need you and your physical presence. Or even from the start.” Against Freiburg he showed “what he’s capable of in the box. Above all, what qualities he has in the end.”
Incidentally, Goretzka considers the discussions about real or false nines to be “a bit pointless”, because: “We’re not going to change the squad now anyway. We have a top squad and enough solutions to score goals too. The chances were in Not our problem in the last few weeks either, today we just had the consistency in front of the goal.”
Even with a real nine, the scoring on Sunday was split between five different shooters. Leroy Sané, for example, was again strong in the center behind the striker and scored his tenth goal in a competitive game, but was taken to Säbener Straße for a check-up after the game with a suspected muscle injury.
Hasan Salihamidzic: praise and announcement for Serge Gnabry
And then Serge Gnabry came back with a goal and an assist. He immediately got praise and an announcement from sports director Hasan Salihamidzic: “I like to see him like today, when he has really good body tension, when he sprints like that, when he takes his actions and his degrees. Talk about it so do we, of course.”
For the first time since matchday 3, Gnabry was directly involved in at least one goal in the Bundesliga. “He’s got everything,” Salihamidzic continued, listing his strength in the air and his “super shot with left and right”. Gnabry will be measured by his performance against Freiburg. “If he’s in top form then we’ve got a really good player. He started today and he has to continue like that.”
This not only applies to Gnabry, but in principle also to the rest of the team. Salihamidzic called the offensive spectacle the “benchmark” for the coming weeks. In the DFB Cup on Wednesday, Bayern now have to prove that the goal gala was not a flash in the pan. After all, it is also an opportunity to take revenge for the 0-1 defeat in the Bundesliga a month ago. Maybe then again with Choupo-Moting as a real nine.
