Bayern Munich News: The aftermath of Germany’s 1-1 draw vs. Netherlands

Germany kicked off the Jürgen Klopp era with a rousing match vs. the Netherlands which featured physicality, wild swings of emotions, and maybe even some bad blood.

Ultimately, the two squads fought (sometimes literally) to a 1-1 draw that might not have left all fans satisfied, but did usher in the next phase of Germany’s footballing future. Let’s get into it, here are some quick hitters on the match:

As always, let’s begin with a look at the starting XI:

This is almost the lineup that many expected. However, Jamal Musiala was a late scratch due to a thigh issue and was replaced by Nadiem Amiri, who was not really up to the task.

Bayern Munich defender Jonathan Tah almost gave up a PK in the 11th minute, but it was a ruled a clean play.

The Netherlands was definitely the stronger team in the early going, and was applying massive pressure to Germany. That looked like it paid off with a goal from Virgil van Dijk via a corner, but the goal was (thankfully) waved off.

Germany was a bit of an unorganized mess in the early minutes of the game, which was probably expected, given how little time the squad had to prepare.

Marc-André ter Stegen was shaky early on, too, but the Ajax goalkeeper would get it together rather quickly after a few scary moments. Ter Stegen would ultimately end up with seven saves in the box (!?) and nine overall.

To reiterate, it was a pretty horrible start for the Germans, who were beneficiaries of a lack of efficiency by the Dutch.

The Netherlands really went after Germany physically. It seemed as if the Germans could have gained a “soft” reputation since the World Cup. The Dutch were clearly the aggressors in every aspect of the game — especially when it comes to physicality.

Right around the 30 minute mark, Germany found its bearings and started to apply some pressure, though Kai Havertz had to leave the game with an injury. He was replaced by Younes Ebnoutalib.

The newfound offensive vigor would pay off in a big way as Felix Nmecha took advantage of a scrum in front of the net, pounced on the ball, and fired it into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute. Germany desperately needed that.

It was not the best game for Nathaniel Brown, who was outplayed by his less-heralded colleague, Philipp Treu. It might be time to wonder if the grind of his last year could be catching up to Brown, who has likely never played this much in his career. A few days off might serve him well.

Speaking of Treu, that was an impressive debut for the SC Freiburg starter.

In the 39th minute, Germany continued its strong run of play, except this time an easy goal was completely butchered. Karim Adeyemi airmailed an absolute sitter. Yikes!

Adeyemi might have had the worst possible debut under Klopp and was a mess at times. His talent and ability are evident at FC Barcelona, but he was a lost soul with Germany.

While Ter Stegen made several mistakes, he made up for them with quite a few great saves.

The goalkeeper would come up big in the 60th minute with a stop on a close-range attempt.

Germany caught a break in the 66th minute, when Mexx Meerdink botched what should have been an easy goal. Meerdink would later smash a shot attempt off the post.

Wow, Ter Stegen came up huge again in the 89th minute with another incredible save.

In the 2nd minute of added time, Ruben van Bommel, who was an absolute menace, dispossessed Gnabry, started streaking down the left side, and fired off a cross with the outside of his right foot to a hard charging Cody Gakpo, who scored to knot the game at 1-1.

Van Bommel changed the game in a massive way for the Dutch. He was outstanding and willed that squad to a draw.

Overall, it was a positive start. Sure, a lot of fans wanted the win, but this did look and feel a little different. While it is tough to gauge where this is all going at the moment (using two teams adds a bit of the unknown into the mix) there was a different energy to the team under Klopp. Maybe that will plateau or wear off, but for now, it seems to be just what Germany needed.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:

Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk is reporting again that a new deal with Harry Kane would include a release clause:

✅ It is TRUE: The Harry Kane camp could imagine a release clause being included in his new contract. It’s very easy for me to give a “TRUE” to this story, as the report came from me! I heard about the idea of making a repeat of this release clause we saw in his last contract. If you remember, he had until January to trigger this, and then it would be possible to leave in the summer. That’s why it was brought to the table once again. Bayern Munich are not afraid of this clause, because they’ve dealt with it before and Kane never ended up triggering it. The numbers were always shrouded in secrecy, but I can say that last time it was set at about €80m [£68.6m] in the first year when he could activate it – he didn’t. In the second year, it was €65m [£55.7m to trigger it – he didn’t. Now, the contract won’t be so long and, given his age, he won’t trigger the release clause in his first season, so that’s why I think it would be okay to include the clause in his new contract. I think Bayern Munich will not put up much of a fight with regard to this question, as I don’t think Kane will need it, but it’s always good to have such insurance in place.

The scenario where this would become relevant is with Kane signing a two-year extension or three-year extension. The release clause heading into the final season of a potential contract extension could actually be advantageous to all parties if Kane inks a three-year extension.

Former Bayern Munich transfer target Givairo Read is being scouted by Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City:

Liverpool are monitoring Feyenoord right back Givairo Read, but face competition from Arsenal and Manchester City, according to TEAMtalk. The 20-year-old Netherlands U21 international has registered four assists in seven Eredivisie appearances this season, with all three clubs continuing to track his progress following summer interest. A January move remains an option depending on formal approaches, after Nottingham Forest and AS Roma previously submitted offers of around €20 million that came to nothing.

Chelsea is always looking for new players, huh? Now, the Premier League club could be eyeing former RB Leipzig striker Conrad Harder:

Chelsea will be keeping a close watch on how Conrad Harder performs with sister club Strasbourg, with sources revealing the Blues are very much keeping a close tab on the player with regards a potential future move and with a crafty three-team exchange already in the works.

The Danish forward has become one of European football’s most watched young talents once again. The 21-year-old centre-forward, currently on a season-long loan at RC Strasbourg from RB Leipzig, continues to attract significant interest from clubs across the continent.

Bayern Munich star Harry Kane did not think it was a big deal that Arsenal star Declan Rice will be skipping England’s games during this international break. With the heavy workload of games, Kane thinks each player just needs to take care of himself however necessary.

“Look, everyone has their own situation. I know how tough the summer was and I know especially in the Premier League how gruelling that schedule is. I’m in a different situation now where I have the winter break and I have moments to recharge and refresh. Some of the players don’t get that,” said Kane. “Everyone has to look after themselves and put themselves first, and I trust all the boys. I spoke to Dec, and I know Dec goes far and beyond for the club and country, so I know how much he gives and I know he’s been struggling for a while with his issues.

“Some someone like Dec has to get himself sorted and get himself fresh, and he has big games for club, big games for country coming up. You know, there’s situations where you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and that’s between the coach and the player. I’ve not spoken to Cole, no. Dec just reached out to me just personally. He just sent me a message, just kind of voice noted me. They don’t have to talk to me. I know they spoke to the coach, so, yeah, that’s down to the players.”

Bayern Munich is reportedly still one of the teams working to signing Manchester United phenom JJ Gabriel:

I can say that the family – JJ Gabriel’s mother is from Cyprus, and his father, a former Republic of Ireland international – have made a decision that the teenager (15) will definitely leave Manchester United and the Premier League. He’s turning 16 on 6th October, at which point he can make key decisions about his future. One such decision will be that he’ll join the agency Epic (of Ali Barat, the agent of the year in 2025). Then there will be decisions for the future; the decision is already made that he’ll leave United. There is the special interest of elite European clubs: Bayern Munich (Christoph Freund has already admitted his admiration for the player), PSG, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. These four clubs are famous for winning titles virtually every season. That’s why the decision was made that Gabriel would leave United, as they’re not a club currently used to bringing in silverware at any comparable rate of frequency. And he wants to win titles. Look, United are obviously still a big club, but if he can move to a currently elite European outfit, he can have a greater chance of winning titles.

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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