Goretzka grabs chance to remind Bayern what he – and they – used to be | Andy Brassell

There were times in the past when it seemed like he would do this forever; there were other times when it felt like he would never do it again. Leon Goretzka breaking a game open for Bayern Munich in his own special way doesn’t feel like it should be headline news but it is, and it was a timely intervention for the Bundesliga leaders on a rare quiet day for Harry Kane.

On a day when Wolfsburg were what they rarely are on visits to the Allianz Arena – a genuine irritant – and when Kane wasn’t able to bail Bayern out, they needed some practical rigour to see them over the line, and Goretzka provided it. Not predictably so, however. Having once been one of the avowed cornerstones of present and future Bayern, Goretzka is in the unusual position of having to prove himself all over again, though not necessarily to his current employers.

His two goals were exactly what we expected from the prime version of this deluxe midfielder, whose contribution underlined his current status of “not wanted, but needed” by his club, as the headline in Monday’s edition of Kicker put it. Stymied by injuries and having failed to become the mainstay all assumed that he would become, the 29-year-old Goretzka still has plenty of supporters around him in the dressing room, most notably Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich.

Yet this felt more like a right here right now curio rather than a pointer to the future. Goretzka has been informally up for sale for a while, with his recent injury history and his €20m annual pay packet a sharp brake on any meaningful progress. Bayern are more at peace than most clubs with one of the harsh realities of sport; not everyone can get paid. Plainly, Goretzka is not one of the hierarchy’s priorities at present, and perhaps he never will be again. Christoph Freund and Max Eberl are juggling more contractual balls than is entirely optimal at present. Jamal Musiala is the big one but Bayern are also aiming to extend Leroy Sané’s deal and are working on the futures of Kimmich, Alphonso Davies and Thomas Müller, the trio whose deals all expire this summer.

Goretzka’s situation is different from that of Davies – who the club still hope to keep out of Real Madrid’s clutches – but also borne of the same key period in Bayern’s recent history. The first year of Hansi Flick was breathtaking, culminating in a six-trophy sweep that was carried out in style. The club played in the image that it always wants to project. Bold, fearless, thrilling and unbeatable.

That year was a peak of winningness and stylishness which the club had long lusted after but had not quite ever delivered, not even under Pep Guardiola. It couldn’t last and didn’t, particularly after Flick’s exit in 2021. Bayern have since won trophies but lived in doubt, searching for an equally emphatic identity on and off the field, and have never come close to the same fluency. Sometimes the Flick era seems like a dream. Now Davies, for example, is naturally a bit more belt and braces – “a little bit less dribbling, a little less risk,” as he told Kicker last January. The overflowing majesty of Flick-era Bayern was unmatchable, but some seem to feel that its main protagonists have let us down by no longer living in that state.

And then there’s Goretzka. He and Kimmich were meant to rule the kingdom of Bayern for a generation. The fulcrum of the champions’ midfield on the pitch – the irresistible athletic force and the Lahm-esque Swiss army knife respectively - they were great friends off it and jointly founded WeKickCorona, a fundraiser to generate money for charities and non-profits during lockdown. Starting off with €1m of their own money, they raised in excess of €4m by the end of April 2020, and they were no silent partners. After training Goretzka and Kimmich would register the pledges and work out between them where the money should go.

It was a rare quiet day for Harry Kane, who failed to score for Bayern. Photograph: Lukas Barth-Tuttas/AFP/Getty Images

The former seemed like the future of Bayern and Germany, the Hercules on whose shoulders both teams hopes could res. Yet he and Kimmich never built on their centrality to the Flick project. When he was in charge Thomas Tuchel could have easily imagined a future without either of them. Now Kimmich seems likely to stay and Goretzka is only involved with João Palhinha injured and players such as Aleksandar Pavlovic and Raphaël Guerreiro rested here. When you add the incoming Tom Bischof to the future midfield rotation, there seems even less space for Goretzka.

It’s easy to sympathise. He is not just a player but someone who has spoken out for the disadvantaged and minorities and who is a real fan, showing up to last season’s relegation playoff wearing his hometown team Bochum’s colours. Vincent Kompany has clear admiration for his professionalism. Kimmich, meanwhile, had the last word. “I’m very happy for him,” he said. “Leon is a prime example for everyone in the dressing room that doesn’t play a lot.” The situation probably can’t endure but as Goretzka knows, it’s all transient.

Talking points

The Borussia Dortmund crisis augmented with another away defeat, this time at an Eintracht Frankfurt side who were bidding farewell to (the non-playing) Omar Marmoush. Lars Ricken still publicly backs Nuri Sahin but with the season slipping away, the coach’s days appear numbered. Erik ten Hag is no longer in the mix as a potential successor but with a need for instant gratification from the January transfer market, a high-cost loan deal for Marcus Rashford is a possibility.

Emre Can berates his Dortmund teammates after their defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. Photograph: Ralf Ibing/firo sportphoto/Getty Images

As they look for individual rather than collective solutions, what would BVB give Florian Wirtz? Leverkusen kept up the pressure on Bayern with an easy home win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, Wirtz scoring twice and laying on yet another for Patrik Schick, before admitting to Sky that he had been “angry” about being dropped for his late arrival at the team meeting before last week’s win at Dortmund. Xabi Alonso stressed: “I’m always very happy with him, and mentality is top notch,” even if Granit Xhaka mischievously suggested: “He gave it more gas to tell the coach ‘hey, I should have played anyway because I have too much quality.’”

It’s getting interesting at the bottom. Bochum remain at the foot of the pile but buoyed by their incredible comeback from 3-0 down at home to Leipzig, with Myron Boadu hitting a hat-trick in his first start since October after injury. Kiel failed to follow up their titanic victory over Dortmund, losing at home to Hoffenheim. Andrej Kramaric’s sweary televised rant about the rot at Hoffenheim had made headlines after their 5-0 midweek loss at Bayern but the Croatian certainly put his money where his mouth was by thrashing in to make it 2-0 just before half-time, a big step to the visitors’ eventual 3-1 win.

Union finally put an end to their winless run with a surprise victory over in-form Mainz (Benedict Hollerbach put them in front inside 90 seconds and later won the penalty from which Robert Skov scored the winner).