Yann Sommer came to FC Bayern from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the winter. Image: AP / Matthias Schrader
Bundesliga
Since Yann Sommer switched to Bayern Munich in the winter, things haven’t really gone well for the Swiss national goalkeeper. The 34-year-old has only kept a clean sheet three times in 14 Bundesliga games for Munich.
He also kept clean sheets in both of his Champions League round of 16 games against Paris Saint-Germain. And yet: Yann Sommer is not yet the secure backing at FC Bayern that gives the shaky defense support.
This became clear again in the 1:3 defeat against Mainz 05 on Saturday. With his blunder in the 65th minute, he put the equalizer on Ludovic Ajorque and played a big role in Mainz starting to catch up.
It wasn’t the goalkeeper’s first uncertainty since his move. And that could have consequences.
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FC Bayern: Summer again and again with simple mistakes
Because the 82-time national player could not really shine during his time in Munich. The last few weeks are much better remembered.
In the Champions League second leg against PSG, defender Matthijs de Ligt saves on the line after Sommer played a disastrous bad pass in the build-up. In the first leg against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the premier class, numerous experts accused him of being 1.83 meters tall when Rodri shot from a distance and were sure that Manuel Neuer would have kept the ball.
It sounded similar about a week ago when Sommer deflected Andrej Kramaric’s free kick to the inside post in the 1-1 home game against TSG Hoffenheim and the ball went into the goal from there.
In the game against Mainz 05, Sommer made a fatal mistake. Image: dpa / Thomas Frey
In addition, he often seems insecure with crosses and corner kicks in the penalty area. What is particularly surprising is the lack of concentration with the ball on foot for the otherwise strong footballer. In the past few weeks there have been an unusual number of bad passes in the game structure, which either ended up with the opponent or out of bounds.
The crisis in the entire club does not leave the goalkeeper untouched.
FC Bayern: Ulreich could replace Sommer against Hertha
This could even go so far that Thomas Tuchel puts him on the bench next Sunday in the home game against Hertha BSC and expresses his confidence in the long-standing Neuer representative Sven Ulreich.
“A goalkeeper change from Sommer to Sven Ulreich, who the team has known for a long time, wouldn’t be a huge surprise,” also judges the specialist magazine “Kicker”.
With the exception of a one-year break, Ulreich has been in Munich for seven years now and is hugely valued by his teammates for his reliable manner and leadership qualities. When he represented Neuer for the entire 2017/18 season, he already made a confident impression. He could bring some security back to the heavily unsettled defence.
Only his mistake in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2018 still lingers on him to this day.
The problem for Sommer is obvious: If Ulreich is now given preference, the Swiss should start the upcoming pre-season without a lead over Manuel Neuer. And the 34-year-old cannot afford a bank seat in the EM year. After all, Gregor Kobel, his direct competitor in the national team at BVB, is regularly between the posts.
