After all the drama last season and finishing third in the Bundesliga, FC Bayern Munich needed a positive start to the new season under new manager Vincent Kompany’s tactics.
So far, it’s been close to perfect, at least on the pitch.
With four league games played, they’ve won four games, scored 16 goals, and conceded three.
The Bavarian club have had some off-field issues, though, one being Sacha Boey’s injury.
This injury means Bayern are short at right-back after losing Noussair Mazraoui during the summer transfer window.
It will be interesting to see how they handle and which players fill that position.
A few players who could fill in for Boey in that position are Joshua Kimmich, Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanišić, who is also currently injured, leaving them with Kimmich and Laimer as the only options.
Konrad Laimer Radar Map At Bayern Munich
The below visualisation highlights the numbers from Laimer’s 2023/24 Bundesliga season.
When Konrad Laimer moved from RB Leipzig to Bayern Munich last summer, he was touted to be Joshua Kimmich’s long-term replacement, especially because of his versatility and their similar positions and styles of play.
Laimer played quite frequently at right-back when he was at Leipzig, and 47% of his minutes at Bayern last season were at right-back, compared to Kimmich’s 40%.
With excellent passing range and possessing a strong ability in duels, Laimer’s energy is also unmatched.
Offensively as well, Laimer is one of the best right-backs in Europe.
With 0.6 key passes per 90 minutes and 0.6 deep completed crosses per 90 minutes, Laimer ranks above average for a number of offensive and defensive metrics.
Sure, he might not be better than Kimmich, but playing Laimer at right-back allows Kompany to play Laimer and Kimmich in the same 11 in their best positions.
It was surprising not to see Laimer as the first-choice player in the starting XI in the opening few games because he is almost always reliable, but he now has the chance to make himself permanent in this new Bayern Munich.
