In FC Bayern’s 4-0 win against Union Berlin, permanent reserve Tanguy Nianzou impressed with a flawless performance and a goal. The central defender hardly gets any minutes of play otherwise. Coach Julian Nagelsmann is therefore in a dilemma – like Dayot Upamecano.
Tanguy Nianzou had just heaved the ball into the goal to make it 2-0 when Dayot Upamecano came running to convey his congratulations. But Upamecano didn’t do somersaults, nor did he yank Nianzou to the ground out of sheer emotion. No, Upamecano hugged his defensive colleague and instead whispered a few words in his ear.
No big jubilation, instead focus on the essentials. Definitely a symbolic scene. Because Nianzou and Upamecano form a community of destiny, both have not really arrived at Bayern. Because of different reasons. While top talent Nianzou has had to fight for every minute since moving from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2020, Upamecano is allowed to play regularly – but is simply too seldom convincing.
In the 4-0 win against Union, both were allowed to play from the start. It was Nianzou’s first starting XI appearance in four months after he last saw the start of a game on the pitch in a 2-1 win in Kyiv in the Champions League. The cold start was successful. The Frenchman convinced with good duels (winning 68 percent of his duels), even interspersed a few good passes in the game opening. He finally crowned his strong performance with his first goal to make it 2-0.
“I was very happy with Tanguy,” praised coach Julian Nagelsmann after the game. “He’s one of our strongest players in the air, you can see that he has a very good character and throws everything in.”
FC Bayern: Nagelsmann’s dilemma with Tanguy Nianzou
But that’s exactly why the coach is in a dilemma. Because: If Süle, Hernandez, Pavard and Upamecano are fit, Nianzou will probably only have a place on the bench despite good performances.
“It’s always a tightrope walk with such a young player. If you’re 15 points ahead, you can give everyone a great rhythm,” said Nagelsmann about Nianzou’s starting eleven chances, which have been so small so far. In the second half of the season, however, Bayern was “not stable” enough for several weeks so that he could not “experiment”.
Nagelsmann: “The games he played from the start were good. He always has a moment, but I give him that. He has talent, he’s only 19. In the end it’s all up to him and his development, like he gets a lot of playing time. I have to see this development in training, that he corrects these one or two careless mistakes. The position is about reliability.”
It worked quite well against Union. Nianzou seemed concentrated, hardly played any bad passes – unlike Upamecano, who again had a few wobbles in the game structure.
Kimmich: “Upamecano can play a big role”
“He can play a big and good role at Bayern,” Kimmich praised him after the game. “He hasn’t been injured for a long time after being injured twice in the beginning. He hasn’t played many games yet, against Benfica he also made a top game out of nothing. Now I found again that he did well.”
“He has an incredible aggressiveness and a winning mentality that is extraordinary,” agreed Nagelsmann Kimmich. At the same time, he also announced that he wanted to absorb Niklas Süle’s free transfer to BVB externally.
“We’ll still take a look around the transfer market and do something else,” said Nagelsmann.
FC Bayern: Nagelsmann’s dilemma with Dayot Upamecano
Which should also be due to Dayot Upamecano. Because Nagelsmann is also in a dilemma with him. While the coach almost has to order Nianzou to the bench given the combination of the player’s performances that are still too faulty and the team’s unstable performances, he can’t do it that easily with Upamecano.
The ex-Leipzig cost at least 42.5 million euros in the summer and should become one of the cornerstones for the future. But the Frenchman still makes too many dropouts on the ball and, as with Taiwo Awoniyi’s chance (21st), sometimes even lost his bearings in the positional play. Although Upamecano often mutates into an element of uncertainty, Nagelsmann strengthens him with confidence. Upamecano has played 22 Bundesliga games for FC Bayern – 19 of them in the starting XI.
“Upa did well today, he recovered after a mistake,” said Nagelsmann with satisfaction and also protected him. Many Union chances arose after losing the ball. “When you’re as high as we are and the opponent has two extremely fast strikers, it becomes dangerous.”
In the end, the duel balance was right for both. “It felt safe with Upa and Tanguy, the two were in eating mode,” said Kimmich. Bayern’s community of destiny marches in step not only when celebrating a goal.
