Could another chain butterfly effect follow?

Bayern Munich lost 1-2 to Inter Milan at home in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League (UCL) held at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on the 9th. Bayern now faces an unfavorable situation as they head into the away match after conceding a blow at home.

On this day, Bayern started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. At the forefront were Harry Kane, with Leroy Sané, Raphael Guerreiro, and Michael Olise in the second line. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were in the third line. The back four consisted of Josip Stanišić, Eric Dier, Min-jae Kim, and Konrad Laimer. The starting goalkeeper was Jonas Uribich.

At home, Bayern took the lead. They gained momentum early in the match, troubling Inter through the flanks. In the 13th minute, Olise made an overlapping run on the right flank and crossed the ball, which Kane easily finished. The ball headed towards opposing goalkeeper Sommer. Then, in the 15th minute, Olise's left-footed shot from distance was also directed right at Sommer.

Bayern had a good opportunity in the 24th minute. Once again, an attack down the flank worked. In the 25th minute, Olise broke through and delivered the ball to Kane, who attempted a shot from a perfect scoring chance that hit the opposing goalpost.

However, Inter did not simply endure this. In the 33rd minute, they completely exploited the weaknesses of the relatively slow Bayern defense during a counterattack. Lautaro momentarily penetrated into the space behind and seemed to have a one-on-one chance, but Min-jae Kim impressively tracked back and thwarted it.

Nevertheless, Inter's momentum did not stop. This time, in the 38th minute, an overlapping run on the left flank ended in a goal. Augusto's cross was lightly touched by Thuram, and Lautaro, penetrating from the back, finished it off, resulting in the opening goal.

The first half ended with Inter leading 1-0. In the second half, Bayern did not find any notable leads. The absence of Musiala was greater than expected. In the 19th minute, a cross led to a situation where the ball cleared by Inter headed directly out of bounds towards Guerreiro.

Trailing 0-1, Bayern coach Kompany substituted Min-jae Kim, Guerreiro, and Sané with Sasha Boey, Serge Gnabry, and Thomas Müller in the 30th minute of the second half. In the 40th minute, Kimmich's cross was played by Konrad Laimer to Müller, who scored an equalizer with excellent positioning.

However, Inter took the lead again. In the 43rd minute, Augusto easily delivered a cross from the left flank, which Davide Frattesi finished off, leading to a turnaround goal. The absence of Min-jae Kim made it challenging to cover the slow Dier's defensive gap. The match ended with Bayern losing 1-2.

After the match, Germany's 'TZ' gave Min-jae Kim, who played 75 minutes, a rating of 3. TZ noted, "Coach Kompany has suffered from Achilles tendonitis for months and could not participate due to Kim's absence, who had been sick with a cold for the past week," and added, "In defense, he blocked two shots from the opposing ace Çalhanoğlu and thwarted Lautaro's one-on-one penetration. His only downside was receiving a yellow card for a hasty tackle."

In contrast, his partner Dier was rated 4, which received some criticism. TZ emphasized, "It may be harsh to judge Dier, who stepped in for Dayot Upamecano, but he was not of starting quality. He played quite well overall, but he was too slow during Frattesi's goal situation."

However, Dier was not the lowest-rated player. On that day, TZ pointed out that Bayern's forwards were the problem. Except for Olise, who received a rating of 3 among the starting forwards, all others received the lowest ratings. In particular, Guerreiro, Kane, and Sané all received a rating of 5.

TZ commented on Guerreiro, who replaced Musiala, stating, "Finding a replacement for Musiala is a tough task. However, it is questionable that Guerreiro started instead of Müller." Kane had a couple of decisive scoring opportunities but squandered them all. TZ remarked, "If it were a normal match, Kane should have scored, and Bayern should have taken the lead. Honestly, both his movement and finishing were disappointing."

Recently, Sané has also become a target with re-contract talks surfacing. He showed no threatening movements from the flanks. TZ stated, "Due to Musiala's injury, Sané was expected to step up as the team's ace. However, he completely failed to meet expectations and appeared very tense, playing poorly," and added, "If this is the case, there is no need to argue whether or not to renegotiate his contract. He should just be let go."

Earlier, Sané expressed, "I want to stay at Bayern Munich" and stated, "I'm ready to sign a new contract even if it means a lower salary." This has led to speculation that the likelihood of Son Heung-min transferring to Bayern has dropped to nearly 0%.

Son Heung-min extended his contract with Tottenham until 2026 by activating the one-year extension option last January, but he has faced criticism this season from some fans and local experts regarding whether he should be a 'Daesang' candidate due to his inconsistent performances.

To The Rain And Back reported on the 29th of last month, "Tottenham may initiate steps to part ways with Son Heung-min. There is a possibility that an era at Tottenham might end," stating, "Tottenham plans to seriously consider proposals for Son Heung-min in the upcoming summer transfer market."

This raised the possibility of Son Heung-min transferring to Bayern. Sport reported, "With Sané's future uncertain, Munich is contemplating acquiring Son Heung-min, likely at Kane's request," igniting rumors of Son's transfer to Bayern Munich.

However, Bayern's recent consideration of Sané's good form and willingness to accept a salary cut led to decreased chances of acquiring Son Heung-min. Nonetheless, after this shocking poor performance in the match, the likelihood of acquiring Son Heung-min instead of Sané has increased.

In fact, TZ, which has been consistently critical of Sané, noted on the 3rd that Munich is preparing to acquire Son Heung-min in anticipation of Sané's departure in the summer transfer market, stating, "Bayern considers Son Heung-min an ideal candidate. He can provide the team with experience, goal-scoring ability, and versatility."

For Bayern, aiming for the top in Europe, Son Heung-min may be preferred over a struggling Sané, particularly if he can show better performance in big matches and does not require adaptation to the German stage. It remains to be seen whether the butterfly effect from the Inter match will lead Bayern to choose to acquire Son Heung-min instead of re-signing Sané.

[OSEN]