“They looked after one another well.”

Following last night’s 4-0 victory over Bremen, FC Bayern München head-coach Thomas Tuchel praised his surprise midfield pairing of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Gortezka. 

Having exclusively stuck to the midfield partnership of Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer during the pre-season, FC Bayern München trainer Thomas Tuchel surprisingly opted to re-unite the old tandem of German national team midfielders Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in last night’s season opener against Bremen. The once inseparable pair have played together significantly less over the past year, in part because both players have sought to enhance their forward game.

Goretzka is also largely considered to be in weaker form and was linked with a departure during the offseason. The duo encountered their fair share of difficulties in the season-opener. Tuchel did eventually turn to Laimer in the 79th minute. Two of Bayern’s four goals came after the substitution. Tuchel nevertheless had praise for the pairing in his post-match comments. Though the FCB trainer conceded that play was sometimes “sloppy” and could improve, he appeared to endorse keeping the partnership together.

“The characteristic of our midfielders is that they move a lot, are on the ball a lot, and take a lot of touches,” Tuchel told German broadcaster DAZN last night, “The game moves around the central midfielders. We still have to adapt to each other there. The two of them looked after one another well tonight.”

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