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Corentin Tolisso
Photo:
Oleg Nikishin / Getty Images
Joshua Kimmich thought of the 57th minute of the game with great reluctance.
"It was embarrassing that I didn't do that," he whispered on TV about the moment when he did not hit the empty goal from four and a half meters, only the outstretched foot of his opponent Slobodan Rajkovic.
He preferred to talk about his shot 22 minutes later, his powerful from 20 meters, the winning goal to 2-1.
Kimmich noted that he had practiced such shots from outside the penalty area from time to time.
Good for Bayern, because this tedious evening in Moscow came to a successful end.
Before the guest game, there was speculation about the amount of victory, as Lok Moscow is considered the weakest opponent in the preliminary round group, on the weekend the Russian runner-up was embarrassed with a home defeat against bottom of the table Rotor Volgograd.
Only then Bayern got themselves into trouble on Tuesday evening.
Only the failure to quickly force the decision after the early 1-0 by Leon Goretzka (13th), then the trembling on the defensive in the second half, when the Moscow locomotive repeatedly rolled onto the Munich goal, just after the equalizer Anton Miranchuk (70th) wavered the title holder of the Champions League.
Until Kimmich took care of the redemption and the Bavarians were relieved to fly home to Munich.
"That wasn't our best game," said Kimmich, "we were also lucky and know that we weren't brilliant."
And Hansi Flick sums it up accurately: "A job win, you could also say a dirty one."
A victory in which not only the long-range shooting strengths of Joshua Kimmich and the defensive weaknesses of the defense stood out.
But above all a player who has been fighting for three years to arrive in Munich - and who now seems to have finally found his role.
Corentin Tolisso.
Tolisso and Bayern - a misunderstanding?
Tolisso came to Munich from Olympique Lyon in 2017, when FC Bayern transferred a transfer fee of 41.5 million euros, at the time it was the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history - and the expectations were accordingly high.
For Tolisso, too, a dream came true for the time being, as he already played football as a child in the red Bayern shirt.
But it soon became apparent that in Munich they didn't know what to do with Tolisso right from the start.
Carlo Ancelotti thought he was the equal successor of the retired Xabi Alonso in the sixth position, which Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saw completely differently.
Tolisso and Alonso, according to the club boss, are "two completely different types of players".
And Tolisso himself?
He preferred to play offensively.
But he wasn't allowed to often.
After a mixed first season, a cruciate ligament rupture put him completely out of action in his second year in Munich, last season he was only a substitute player until an ankle injury mated him again.
Tolisso and FC Bayern, it seemed like a big misunderstanding until then.
There is a decisive reason why it is finally blossoming at the beginning of its fourth season in Munich.
And his name is Hansi Flick again.
And now: start the film!
The move from Thiago to Liverpool, unlike what has recently been heard over and over again, does not play such an important role.
Sure, Thiagos departure was another place available in the midfield, but it would be too easy to say that Tolisso was inhibited under Thiago and could only develop properly now.
The coach has had the greatest part in Tolisso's sudden boom.
Because he got out old video material.
In his proven meticulousness, Flick watched earlier Olympique Lyon games again and again towards the end of last season, where Tolisso had just finished an outstanding last season for the French top club from summer 2016 in eighth position before moving to Munich.
Flick wanted to know how Tolisso played, where he acted, how he opened the game forward, how he created goal threat.
Again and again Flick sat down with Tolisso, encouraged him in many conversations and now more and more often set him up where he feels most comfortable.
In the central midfield.
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Whoever has the ball is attacked
Photo: Maxim Shemetov / AP
"You can tell in training with him that a small burden has fallen off," said Hansi Flick just last week.
"He just enjoys training and the game. And that is also extremely important for him because he then has a certain degree of relaxation."
This was not only evident in his phenomenal dream goal against Atlético Madrid a week ago, but also in Moscow, when he played in front of double six for Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka and initiated the Munich lead with a wonderful pass to Benjamin Pavard.
The right-back fit right into the six-yard area where Goretzka headed.
From the headquarters to the outside, from there immediately back to the center, exactly how Hansi Flick imagined it.
"Against such deep opponents, such a quick game shift is a good option," said the Bayern coach.
Corentin Tolisso is now more than a good option, he has found his right place and probably the right coach for him.
Bayern and Tolisso have cleared up their misunderstanding.
Icon: The mirror
