How Nagelsmann makes Bayern successful again
FC Bayern walks into the quarter-finals against Mainz
FC Bayern shot their frustration out of Joao Cancelo’s debut in the DFB Cup. After a long and convincing performance, the recently weakening record champions made it into the quarter-finals for the first time in three years.
João Cancelo inspires on his debut for FC Bayern in Mainz. After the cup victory, the club management praised the recently criticized Julian Nagelsmann for a tactical trick. The coach recently took special measures.
UAt midnight he proudly posted videos and photos of his big performance. “Quarterfinals, here we come. Happy with my debut,” João Cancelo wrote on social media on Wednesday after FC Bayern’s 4-0 (3-0) win in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup at 1. FSV Mainz 05.
It was only at the beginning of the week that the German soccer record champions signed and presented the Portuguese international from Manchester City. The 28-year-old is on loan until the end of the season, FC Bayern secured a purchase option for 70 million euros. In Mainz, access played right from the start. And convinced. He was an important factor in Munich’s first win of the year.
Julian Nagelsmann, coach of FC Bayern, on the sidelines during the game in Mainz
Quelle: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke
“João played very well and did very well. He has extremely good creativity,” said Julian Nagelsmann. The coach surprised with a modified game system in which Cancelo took over the part on the right flank. “I had no concerns because he comes from one of the best coaches in the world.”
At Manchester City, Cancelo has played 96 Premier League games alone under the direction of star coach Pep Guardiola. “He has a very big heart and passion on the field,” said Nagelsmann. “That’s why I told him early on that he was playing and that he shouldn’t worry too much. He’s just very calm on the ball, which is what we need against deep opponents. João also defended well and was extremely diligent. He did a lot of deep runs, which we’ve been missing a bit lately.”
Against Mainz, Cancelo set up Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting’s 1-0 lead with a cross (18th minute). According to ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger, Nagelsmann called from the sidelines for Cancelo to play the ball back to Benjamin Pavard.
“You can see what a great footballer he is, the positional play, the handling of the ball,” said club president Herbert Hainer about the newcomer. “He’ll do us real good.”
Müller: “A great start”
The other goals for Bayern were scored by Jamal Musiala (30′), Leroy Sané (44′) and Alphonso Davies (83′). “It was a pretty good performance for his first game in a new team. A great start,” said captain Thomas Müller, for whom it was his 63rd cup appearance, about his new colleague. Only goalkeeper legend Sepp Maier has played as many games in the competition as Müller for Bayern.
Debutant Cancelo himself remained humble despite the praise. “It was a great game from the whole team. My teammates tried to get me involved as quickly as possible,” he emphasized. “I’m very happy to have contributed to this victory.” Despite the strong preparatory work, he didn’t want to overestimate his part in the 1-0: “It was a good cross, but the way Choupo-Moting completed it was twice as good better.”
It was a hugely important win for Bayern. After three 1-1 draws in a row, the team showed the reaction the club management was hoping for and took more risks in the offensive game. Munich were as strong as before the winter break. “It was extremely important to progress in the cup,” said midfield boss Joshua Kimmich.
From the start, the team showed “who wants to leave the field as a winner”. Before the game, the players had talked to each other about the result crisis of the past few weeks, sometimes without coach Nagelsmann. Obviously, these talks brought a lot.
Paris wins in Montpellier
The victory in Mainz was the start of groundbreaking weeks for the club: On Sunday (5.30 p.m., DAZN) Bayern will play in the league at VfL Wolfsburg, in ten days the first leg of the Champions’ Round of 16 will follow at Paris St. Germain. After two winless games in the league, the French champions won 3-1 (0-0) at Montpellier HSC this week. In Ligue 1, PSG are five points ahead of Olympique Marseille.
Argentina’s world champion Lionel Messi (left), here in a duel with Montpellier’s Boubakar Kouyate, plays with PSG in the Champions League against Bayern
Which: AFP/SYLVAIN THOMAS
Bayern know they have to keep improving. The performance in Mainz makes them confident. Young star Musiala, who has not been in top form in recent weeks, played very well. miller or Musiala – that was the last question. This cup evening proved that it can work very well with both in the starting XI.
“It was just a good game from us, we made a few adjustments,” said world champion Müller. “We enjoyed playing on the field, active freewheeling behavior.” President Hainer praised Nagelsmann, who had recently been criticized, for the tactical idea with the three-man defense and Cancelo in front on the right: “Julian always finds solutions. It was very creative what he did, but it was exactly the right recipe.”
