Unremarkable Goretzka gives Bayern what they need

And so yet again Bayern win. Not just Saturday’s match against Borussia Monchengladbach, but in practicality the Bundesliga title too, their eighth in a row. Another season in which the reigning champions have fallen behind, only to recover and retain their crown. A late winner from Leon Goretzka ensures that they only need one more win from their remaining three games to make mathematically certain. They’ve won 16 of their 17 games in all competitions in 2020 – that win will come.

Monchengladbach were actually the last side to defeat Hans-Dieter Flick’s side, back in Matchweek 14 of the season. The result put them top of the table. Bayern, meanwhile, were seventh – seven points behind. Six months on and Bayern are seven points clear of second-placed Dortmund, and 17 ahead of Monchengladbach.

The visitors came into the game having beaten the league leaders in three of their last five meetings and, with both sides missing key players in attack, took the game to Bayern. Alassane Pléa’s suspension meant more responsibility lay on Marcus Thuram’s broad shoulders, only for injury to force him from the field inside the opening ten minutes. Nonetheless their equaliser, albeit a fortunate own goal by Bayern’s Benjamin Pavard, was well-deserved, especially given that they had only conceded following an unfathomable error by Yann Sommer.

They started the second half with two further efforts on goal and matched their hosts for possession. Without suspended top scorer Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, who last weekend broke the record for assists in a single season, Bayern were lacking spark. After Erling Haaland’s last-gasp winner for Dortmund earlier in the day, was the champions’ lead set to shrink?

Enter Goretzka. The German midfielder was inconspicuous throughout the game, taking only 63 touches from centre midfield and attempting 52 passes. In context, alongside him Joshua Kimmich played 71 passes, while across from him Florian Neuhas and Christoph Kramer recorded 55 and 49 respectively. He attempted just one dribble, and made one tackle. He only had one touch of the ball in each area, and yet both were crucial.

The first of those two touches was in the opponents’ six yard box as he swept home Pavard’s low cross to restore his side’s lead. Moments later, he tracked back to meet another low cross, this time clearing the danger as Monchengladbach sought an immediate equaliser. An unremarkable performance finished with him netting his sixth league goal of the season, all of which have come in 2020. It was his third in six games since the season the resumed, but the first to decide a result.

His performance on Saturday was not an off-day for the former Schalke midfielder; if anything, it was typical. His pass accuracy rate across the Bundesliga campaign has been 86.1% - just the 33rd highest in the league at time of writing. For comparison, Dortmund’s Axel Witsel leads the way with 94.3% while playing in a similar position. Fellow Bayern midfielder Thiago, whom Goretzka is reportedly set to replace in the starting XI, boasts a 90.5% success rate. Kimmich’s is 90%, and he takes set pieces.

Goretzka has completed 16 of his attempted 22 dribbles so far this season, while Thiago has 71 from 83 (having started made six more starts). He has only made 21 tackles all season; Kimmich has 48 and Thiago 45. Even Muller (sorely missed today) has made 41, while Serge Gnabry has recorded 33. Lewandowski has just six fewer.

Let’s be clear, this is not a criticism. This is how he plays, and it works. Thiago may have a superior pass success rate, but he is yet to record an assist this season. Goretzka has five. The German has scored 14 times in 51 Bundesliga games for Bayern, as many as he managed in 116 league appearances for Schalke. Given how many goals Bayern’s other forwards and midfielders contribute, this is no mean feat. He has also found the net 11 times in 25 caps for his country, where he plays further forward, either centrally or on the right.

At 6’2” he can cut a formidable figure in the centre of the park, and has returned from the lockdown more physically imposing. In a recent interview, he commented:

“They say ‘battles are decided in the midfield,’ don’t they? Jokes aside, physical robustness helps you with your physical presence on the pitch, in deciding duels, and also with jumping strength for headers — as for example on corner kicks.”

His presence may not be felt just yet but he is not only earmarked as Bayern’s future, but a key part of their present. While his stats compare unfavourably to his peers, he is simply effective – or, to use that old cliché, efficient. So what if his teammates make more tackles or take more touches? So far this has not been his role, and it has worked for him and Bayern. Anyway, as long as he continues to deliver as telling contributions as he did on Saturday, it won’t matter.

Stats via WhoScored.