It had been 175 days, almost six months, since Leon Goretzka was last in FC Bayern's starting eleven. On the last matchday of the preseason, the Munich team lost 2:4 at TSG Hoffenheim. And if that day was already a spent one, things only went further downhill for the midfielder. Until there was finally a ray of hope again this Saturday: Goretzka was back on the pitch for the first time at kick-off in the Bundesliga in the away game at FC St. Pauli.
Bayern won the game 1-0 (1-0) with a wonderful long-range goal from Jamals Musiala from 27 meters in the 22nd minute. It was Munich's fifth game in a row without conceding a goal. This time Goretzka was also involved in this series.
“He did very well,” said coach Vincent Kompany, commenting on his decision on the pay-TV channel Sky before kick-off, describing Goretzka’s nomination to the starting eleven as a “completely normal decision”. Which of course isn't true. After all, there has been speculation and reports for months about the form and future of the 57-time national player, whom Kompany had no longer called into the squad. And so Kompany also admitted that he understood the question of “why”.
Especially since there had just been another rather unfortunate situation. In the Champions League game during the week, Goretzka was already on the sidelines ready to be substituted when the score was 0-0 against Benfica Lisbon. At exactly that moment, Bayern's lead fell and Kompany no longer saw the need to bring on Goretzka. So it went back to the bench.
Goretzka's contract runs until 2026
But now he was allowed to go. Instead of Goretzka, João Palhinha, who was recently a strong player, took a seat on the bench in Hamburg. The Portuguese came from England's Fulham FC in the summer for over 50 million euros. Goretzka, on the other hand, is said to have been suggested a move to another club. But no such transfer took place.
Goretzka, who was not called up for the European Championship in his own country by national coach Julian Nagelsmann in the summer, has not yet commented publicly on his situation. His contract with the German record champions is valid until June 2026.
Saturday could be a sign that both sides might be interested in fulfilling the working paper. Even though Goretzka played a rather unremarkable game, he was substituted for Palhinha in the 82nd minute.
