Sadio Mané at Bayern: A first interim conclusion

The change from to FC Bayern was the transfer sensation of the summer. The Senegalese should help close the gap left by Robert Lewandowski. But it is also clear that the 30-year-old is a completely different type of striker than Lewandowski, which has both advantages and disadvantages. We take a look at the past few weeks and analyze how well the offensive player has done so far and how well the attack harmonizes with Mané.

If you read through the posts in fan forums, you can read a little criticism of the new Bayern star for the first time. Sadio Mané was rather inconspicuous in the Champions League against Inter Milan and missed the connection to the game for some phases.

Mané harmonizes strongly with Gnabry

In the first few games in particular, Bayern’s enormous trump card seemed to have been that the offensive harmonized excellently and all players on the pitch were equally involved in the actions. In fact, one gets the impression that Mané can shine especially when Serge Gnabry is also on the pitch. Gnabry is a type of player who often appears in the penalty area, giving Mané the chance to switch to the wings from time to time.

The first games have already shown that the offensive harmonizes very well with the line-up of Gnabry, Müller, Musiala and Mané. At this point, hardly anyone was thinking about saying goodbye to . The offensive without the top Polish striker seemed even more variable and dangerous.

Mané as a center forward with slight problems

In the past few weeks, however, there has been a slight disillusionment due to the two points shared against Gladbach and Union Berlin. Mané also no longer showed top performances. On the one hand, you had the feeling that the interaction with Sané and especially Coman was not working so well and that the Senegalese, who had to focus more on his place in the top striker, was increasingly up in the air.

In principle, it’s not that bad if the “centre forward” doesn’t have that many contacts. It is more important that he shows presence in the decisive moments and works out goal scenes. Even though Mané was no longer able to use his team-mates as well as in the first few weeks, he remained a goal threat. Here, however, we would have arrived at another Mané problem that has less to do with the system and the other players and more to do with himself. Sadio Mané has missed too many chances since arriving at Bayern. The offensive player fails conspicuously often in one-on-one situations and was not lucky with his shots from 10-15 meters. In addition, the ex-Liverpooler often lacked the necessary timing, which is why he has already scored numerous offside goals.

Mané balance sheet properly: is the “false nine experiment” successful?

All in all, his balance sheet reads well despite the problems listed. Four goals in seven competitive games is not a bad rate, although much more would have been possible. On the other hand, it’s a bit disappointing that he hasn’t been able to provide an assist yet. This is due to the fact that the actor has made excellent combinations, but has too often made the wrong decision or played the pass too imprecisely.

The next few weeks will have to show whether Mané would prefer to be the only lead or the only “False Nine” or bring in a double lead. So far he has worked better in a double attack, especially since he can combine better with his teammates in this role, but the experiment with Mané as a single striker should not be put off just yet.

This is supported, for example, by the fact that the Senegalese, despite his 1.74 meters, often heads the ball and also creates danger. He also has a good instinct and has the right paths ready. Accordingly, he also has many chances to score and is no less on the ball than Robert Lewandowski used to be. The offensive player only has to get better in terms of timing and finishing. But you can definitely expect that from a star like Sadio Mané.

Mané has already arrived excellently on a human level

The bottom line is that Mané certainly still has room for improvement in terms of sport, but has made a very solid start at Bayern Munich and is in the mood for more. It should also be mentioned that the character of the player is extremely good for the people of Munich. Compared to Robert Lewandowski, Mané is more team-oriented, down-to-earth and brings a better atmosphere to the team. It is certainly no coincidence that everyone only speaks positively about the Senegalese and praises them for their open and friendly nature.

So the man Sadio Mané has fully arrived at FC Bayern. In terms of sport, all the prerequisites are there for the new Liverpool signing to ignite properly. The actor’s footballing skills are undeniably undeniable. You just have to be a little patient. There are many indications that the player will go down in the history books as a great Bayern kicker.

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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as.