Michael Olise was the star of the show in Bayern’s Six Star comeback showing against Freiburg at the Allianz Arena earlier this afternoon. The French international was involved directly in 5 of Bayerns’s 6 goals with a hat-trick of assists and two goals of his own. Youngster Lennart Karl was also on the scoresheet, as were Dayot Upamecano, Harry Kane and Nicolas Jackson to complete the rout after Johan Manzambi and Yuito Suzuki had given Freiburg a shock two goal lead.
Vincent Kompany’s men lined up in the usual 4231 with Harry Kane up top flanked by Luis Diaz and Olise on the left and right respectively and Lennart Karl in attacking midfield. Freiburg also lined up in a 4231, Jan-Niklas Beste on the left, Yoito Suzuki in attacking midfield and Derry Scherhant on the right, all behind Lucas Holer up top.
From minute 1, the match between FC Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena was an unexpectedly tense affair, particularly for the home side, which quickly found itself facing a two-goal deficit. Despite being favourites, Bayern was caught flat-footed by Freiburg’s early determination and clinical efficiency from set-pieces.
The first moment of note came in the 5th minute as Jan- Niklas Beste registered a near miss for the visitors, forcing Manuel Neuer into an early save with a deflected effort that went wide of the goal. This set the tone for Freiburg’s opening surge. Just seven minutes later, Freiburg capitalised, converting a low corner from Beste that was flicked on by Ginter, allowing Yuito Suzuki to slide the ball past Neuer for the opener.
The champions were rattled, and the situation worsened almost immediately. In the 17th minute, Freiburg repeated the trick, another corner delivery from Beste found Johan Manzambi, who rose highest to head the ball home for a stunning 0-2 lead.
Bayern’s immediate response showed urgency, if not complete composure in the face of a seemingly imminent defeat. In the 20th minute, young Lennart Karl headed a chance over the bar in what was practically their first significant action. However, the 17-year-old was key to starting the comeback, pulling one back for Bayern just two minutes later. Karl controlled a fizzed pass from Michael Olise expertly before firing home to make the score 1-2. This goal demonstrated the beginning of the crucial partnership(between Karl and Olise) that would define the rest of the match.
The frantic pace continued through the half-hour mark, with Suzuki attempting an ambitious strike in the 25th minute that went marginally off-target. The only card of the match was shown in the 30th minute when Bayern’s Aleksandar Pavlović received a yellow. As the first half wound down, Bayern pressed hard for the equaliser and they found it in first-half stoppage time. The goal once again featured Karl and Olise. After Noah Atubolu parried a shot from Pavlović, Karl laid it off for Michael Olise, whose venomous strike could not be kept out by Atubolu, levelling the scores at 2-2 just before the interval.
The second half began with a tactical change for the hosts as Konrad Laimer came on for Leon Goretzka. Bayern emerged with renewed purpose, and thought they had taken the lead early when Lennart Karl slotted home after fine interplay with Olise. However, the goal was ruled out for offside involving Josip Stanišić in the build-up.
The champions were however not deterred for long. In the 55th minute, the comeback was completed as Dayot Upamecano was left completely unmarked at the far post to volley in the go-ahead goal from an Olise corner delivery, making it 3-2, and just five minutes later, Bayern extended their lead. Pavlović drove forward, leading to a mix-up in the Freiburg box, and Harry Kane capitalised to power his strike past Atubolu for the fourth goal.
Freiburg responded to the goals with a triple substitution in the 64th minute, bringing on Patrick Osterhage, Eren Dinkçi, and Igor Matanović for Manzambi, Scherhant, and Höler. However, the momentum was firmly with Bayern. Luis Díaz came close in the 67th minute, weaving through the box but sending his attempt agonisingly wide for another near miss. Dinkci also fired an effort just over the bar in the 69th minute for Freiburg.
Further substitutions saw Nicolas Jackson replace an injured Lennart Karl in the 71st minute, and in the 77th minute, Minjae Kim came on for Dayot Upamecano, while Freiburg introduced Vincenzo Grifo and Philipp Lienhart. The Bayern substitution made an immediate impact, as in the 78th minute, Nicolas Jackson scored Bayern’s fifth goal, slotting home a finish after another brilliant assist from Michael Olise.
The final two changes for Bayern saw Hikori Ito and Wisdom Mike replace Aleksandar Pavlović and Harry Kane in the 83rd minute. Olise, who was already involved in four goals, completed his phenomenal performance in the 85th minute, scoring his second and Bayern’s sixth goal by cutting inside and curling a stunning shot into the top corner. He nearly completed a hat-trick in added time but his final effort was aimed just too high. The final whistle blew in the 96th minute, confirming a decisive 6-2 victory for FC Bayern Munich.
