FC Bayern is in the Christmas rush. As the festive days draw closer, the German record champion is playing one English week after another. Fortunately, Vincent Kompany knows a player in his squad whom he can place in almost any position.
Left-back, right-back, central and offensive midfield. In the current season alone, Raphaël Guerreiro has already played four different positions for FCB. The versatile Portuguese usually comes into play when the first team needs a break.
This was particularly evident in the Bundesliga recently. In the home game against the struggling FC St. Pauli, Guerreiro was allowed to stir things up behind the forwards, and in Stuttgart, he was once again in the starting lineup because Kompany surprisingly rotated. Both matches exemplified his role as a joker from the first minutes: reliable, versatile, but rarely a regular starter.
A similar picture emerged in the Champions League. There, too, Guerreiro mainly started when Kompany wanted to rotate against opponents from the lower half of the table. In the matches against Pafos and Brugge, he experienced the kickoff on the field. In the 5-1 victory in Cyprus, he even contributed a goal.
With Sporting Lisbon, Bayern faces another opponent on (tabular) equal footing this evening. With ten points after five games, the reigning Portuguese champion has had a good start and is only two points behind Bayern. However, the same was true for the sixth-placed Stuttgart team in the Bundesliga.
We already know how that ended. Bayern dismantled the Swabians 5-0 in their own stadium last weekend – but only after Guerreiro was no longer on the field. Instead, Harry Kane, who is usually a regular starter, came on and promptly scored a hat-trick.
Guerreiro himself is currently not part of the regular starting eleven. Kompany uses him mainly when load management is needed or the system needs to be adjusted. The all-rounder can be used anywhere but does not excel unchallenged anywhere. Therefore, the 31-year-old often finds himself on the bench when his team faces the really “big” games.
However, the fine technician has recently known how to seize his opportunities. In his last five Bundesliga appearances, the native Portuguese recorded five scorer points – a strong application for another starting spot in the duel against Sporting.
Perhaps he is also applying in his future chosen home. Sporting rival Benfica is said to be interested in Guerreiro, with star coach José Mourinho reportedly looking for a left-back according to ‘A Bola’.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s 65-time international is looking for regular playing time to apply for the 2026 World Cup squad. A strong performance against the hated neighbor this evening would certainly look good in his application portfolio.
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