Analysis
UCL Finals Contenders
How Vincent Kompany resurrected the Man City team of his playing days in the Bavarian Capital
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UCL Finals Contenders: How Vincent Kompany resurrected the Man City team of his playing days in the Bavarian Capital
Top contender: Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich look like the team to beat this season, built on a devastating offense and a stingy defense.
Harry Kane leads the line and has been in scintillating form for both club and country.
With Michael Olise and Luiz Diaz providing great support and services while scoring amazing goals of their own, it reminds me of the days of Ribery, Lewandoski and Robben. Obviously, Diaz is not at Ribery’s level (yet) but he is ruthless when he sees an opportunity. Olise, is just having a fantastic year. Pretty soon we are going to call him Mister Assists, he just flows by players and he’s faster than it seems looking like he's gliding on invisible skaters. He reminds me of Clyde Drexler, former NBA great.
Then you add Gnabry, who’s back to his 2022 level, hunting and serving the ball like a man possessed. The relationship between Kimmich and Olise is getting better by the week. Their movement of each other causes problems for defenses as they can both serve the ball perfectly into the box for anyone asking and willing.
Konrad Laimer is the man of the season for me, if he continues to adjust, Bayern is going to be hard to stop. In addition, Nicolas Jackson offers a great option as a substitute for Kane. I think that the speed of the German game suits Nicolas perfectly and Jackson will go on a rampage run in the Bundesliga, allowing Kane to stay fresh for the UCL.
How about that defense? The whole team contributes and it is nice to see, no passenger. But I believe that bringing Tah takes the team to another level. The man is smart, collected and a physical specimen. Quite frankly, Tah is the perfect complement for Upamecano. And we have Neuer who doesn’t age, excellent week in, week out.
In closing, Vincent Kompany is a deliberate, organized and disciplined coach with a focus on movement. You don’t score that many goals without that type of commitment. I will call this one early, Bayern will be in the UCL semi-finals.
