A Bayern Munich midfielder is “upset” after being dropped by manager Vincent Kompany.
Leon Goretzka did not make the Bayern Munich squad for the club’s thumping 6-1 victory over Bundesliga newcomers Holstein Kiel.
The Germany international, who has made 222 appearances for Bayern since joining form Schalke in 2018, also missed the club’s DFB-Pokal 4-0 win over SSV ULM 1846.
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Indeed, Goretzka has played just one minute of competitive football for the Bavarian giants this term.
Speaking ahead of Bayern’s weekend victory, director of sport Max Eberl explained the 29-year-old’s omission from the team, and added that the player was “upset”.
"We communicated very clearly from the start," he told Sky Germany via Bulinews.
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"Leon knew that we were relying on Pavlo [Aleksandar Pavlovic], and that we would bring in [Joao] Palhinha and that Joshua [Kimmich] would play more in the centre again. It's just that the competition is fierce."
Eberl continued: "We've also said that when Leon is there and ready to face the situation, he'll be treated completely normally.
"Leon's a great guy. I like him a lot, even though he's obviously upset at the moment. I understand that too. But that's part of life in football."
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Goretzka has netted 40 goals and assisted another 46 across his six years at Bayern, while he has claimed five Bundesliga titles as well as a Champions League. The midfielder has also made 57 appearances for the German national team.
However, Kompany has suggested Goretzka could be deployed at centre-back in future, after the player started alongside Eric Dier in defence for a 4-0 friendly win over Grasshoppers.
Kompany at the time said: "Leon did a great job. He can slip into that role well."
Bayern have won all three of their Bundesliga matches this season and sit at the summit having scored 11 goals.
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Meanwhile, Harry Kane is joint top of the league’s scoring charts on four goals alongside Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric.
Topics: Bayern Munich, Vincent Kompany, Bundesliga, Germany, Football