Leon Goretzka reveals pre-match targeting of Angelo Stiller after decisive goal: “I spotted it during warm-up.” | OneFootball

Out-of-favour German national team midfielder Leon Goretzka once again finds himself earning respect at Bayern Munich. Whenever he’s been called upon in the Bundesliga as of late, the 30-year-old steps up and finds a way to silence his critics. This occurred yet again in Friday night’s 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart.

Called upon to step in for the injured Joshua Kimmich, the 30-year-old shined in just his third league start of the campaign. The importance of Goretzka’s performance left him – at the very least – a narrow second to Michael Olise in for the man-of-the-match honour.

Some observers would have picked him over Olise, especially in light of the fact that Goretzka’s engineered the vital 2-1 himself. In the 64th minute, a high-pressing Goretzka pounced on a risky pass out of the back from VfB keeper Alexander Nübel to Angelo Stiller, then resolutely polished off the match-winner.

In his post-match interview with DAZN, Bayern’s midfielder confidently declared that he had his eye out for such a scene all night long. Furthermore, the Bochum-native even claimed that he told head coach Vincent Kompany that he would score in such a fashion.

“Funnily enough, I told the coach at half-time that I would score a goal like that,” Goretzka said. “I know that Angelo [Stiller] likes to play the ball forward with his left foot a lot, and that’s what I was counting on. I spotted it during the warm-up. It’s great when something like that pays off. Alex [Nübel] was in a good position, but I’m lucky that he cut inside.“

GGFN | Peter Weis