Bayern Munich is back in the Bundesliga. The 2026/27 season has started on a high note, with Bayern convincingly beating the big teams. Last season, VfB Stuttgart finished fourth in the Bundesliga table, securing a spot in the Champions League. They continue to show their quality this season and made Bayern fight hard during the second half to take home the victory. Here are the observations from the first Bundesliga match. Bayern Munich started the match with an interesting team that could well become the norm this season. The team consisted of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae at the back, Alphonso Davies and Konrad Laimer on the flanks, Joshua Kimmich and Aleksander Pavlović in the centre, with Luis Díaz, Michael Olise, Nathaniel Brown and Harry Kane in attack. The players fit modestly well in these positions, but Stuttgart had plans. Imagine this: a Stuttgart team that was aggressive from the first minute. Quick passes, lightning-fast reflexes and almost split-second decisions. This was the rule they had established. Bayern weren’t simply the weaker team: they were being outplayed and outplayed by the away team, who simply seemed to want victory more. Harry Kane was too deep to have an immediate impact during the game. Attackers Díaz and Olise seemed bewildered from the first half, as if the game had not yet started. They simply weren’t worried about how quickly they lost possession, nor the fact that Stuttgart were recycling possession quickly. A monster performance from Kim and Manuel Neuer kept a clean sheet throughout the first half. The only goal came thanks to a goal by Dayot Upamecano on a set piece by Kimmich. Bayern were simply taking too long to fit into the game or develop the proper and necessary seriousness. It wasn’t exactly a great first impression, but the second half changed things significantly. The only way to describe Bayern’s response to Stuttgart in the second half is to describe it as an avalanche of rapid attack that came seemingly out of nowhere and completely changed the trajectory. In the 52nd minute, the game had suddenly swung towards Stuttgart’s side. The visitors gave a worthy response to Upamecano’s goal with a fantastic goal from Josha Vagnoman. After a series of errors by Bayern, including a poor pass from goalscorer Upamecano, Vagnoman made it 1-1. This marked a complete change of attitude on the part of Bayern. The same team that was slow and erratic was suddenly in perfect sync. Three minutes later, in a moment of disorganization in the Stuttgart defense, Olise scored Bayern’s second goal. Another three minutes later, Vagnoman accidentally converts a Davies cross into a goal. A few minutes after Vagnoman’s first goal, he scored the second, but for the wrong team and changed the trajectory of the game. A simple slip on wet grass, but so dramatic in the way it impacted the game. By this time, Stuttgart was exhausted and could no longer contain Bayern. What could easily have been a nightmare at home for Bayern ended up being salvageable because they still had time to react. With tougher opposition, this kind of approach from Bayern could be costly. Stuttgart simply had not done enough to turn their previous dominance into a result. If the team was able to adapt so easily, why not do it sooner and bury the game? I guess we’ll never know. Bayern has been using a lot of Spiderman material in their promotions lately… This Bayern team is certainly more fluid than last year. If you were used to suffocating press and half-space play, you might be surprised that Bayern are doing things differently: more direct vertical passes behind the press instead of passing through the opponent’s press. Kimmich in this configuration has the master key. Putting aside his two assists tonight, you could see how he was moderating his passing and in fact maintained over 90 percent passing accuracy. Nathaniel Brown is an interesting figure in this setup. It is different from the usual figures we have at the CAM stand. A fast player who is excellent at passing the ball through the streets but does not play a heavy 1v1 game like Musiala, whose ball control and dribbling are fundamental to his game. Brown also has a better defensive profile and it showed: he was one of the brightest spots along with Kim Min-jae in the first half. Speaking of the Korean defender, he was ranked incredibly high in multiple instances, but he still defended exceptionally well. When sloppy and dry like the first half, this Bayern constantly recycles possession and cannot progress in the final third. Wingers encountering opposing players would lose the ball cheaply or simply make a backward pass instead of finding a way into the final third. Therefore, the fluidity of this tactical system is only of real use when the team is in sync. Reduces the need to overcome a strong side that presses with sheer resistance. Stuttgart may have given them 45 minutes to get the hang of things, but the same cannot be guaranteed for the big European teams. We can only hope that next time Bayern will be alert from the first minute. I am unashamedly a big fan of Ismael Saibari. The 25-year-old attacker was brilliant in his half-hour cameo. Saibari took over in the attacking midfield position after Nathaniel Brown was replaced and put his game intelligence to the test. The final 30 minutes showed the most dominant version of Bayern and it was easy to see why. For example, the two assists he provided. Saibari intervenes, beats the Stuttgart player who is marking him, finds Pavlović, who then finishes to make it 4-1. The final goal, scored in overtime by Díaz, was also a product of Saibari. A great run by the Moroccan and a good pass to the Colombian winger were enough. Saibari brings a very different profile than Brown and Musiala, and very necessary for Bayern. A player like him would serve the team very well against low blocks. The other players have already started to see how special his talent is and it is only a matter of time before he starts winning important games for Bayern. Miscellaneous Observations Manuel Neuer was solid, but Fabian Bredlow made more spectacular memorable saves. The Davies-Díaz combo looks promising, but there is much more to expect from the two. Surprisingly, the Olise-Laimer duo did not surprise me tonight. Angelo Stiller remains a painful reminder that our players will always come back to bite us. Deniz Undav is still an excellent striker and would do well as Kane’s backup, but that’s a pipe dream. Sign up for a user account and get: New, improved notification system! Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Recording comments, community posts
