Ryan Kent makes first Bundesliga start against Bayern
Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent made his first start for Freiburg against Bayern Munich in a 5-0 loss.
Kent was handed his first start for Freiburg by manager Christian Streich and started alongside Florian Niederlechner in a striker pairing as part of Freiburg’s defensive 3-5-2 formation.
Despite Streich’s focus on defense, Freiburg were still mauled by Bayern in Jupp Heynckes’ managerial return and their loss slides the Black Forest outfit into the relegation zone with just seven points in eight games.
Kent, who typically played for Liverpool in a wide role to get the most out of his directness, pace and trickery, did not seem entirely comfortable playing in such a central position.
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Per WhoScored, He completed just 57% of his passes, had no successful take-ons or tackles, and was dispossessed twice.
His biggest moment of the game came in the sixth minute of the game when he missed a one-on-one chance against Sven Ulreich. The Oldham-born forward was clean through on goal, but snatched at his chance. Just two minutes later, Bayern went 1-0 up through a Freiburg own goal.
In all fairness, this was always likely to be a difficult game for Freiburg and Kent. Not only is Bayern already expected to beat them, but the Bavarians had something to prove after the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti and the return of legendary coach Heynckes.
The only portion of Kent’s game that worries me is the fact that he completed no tackles in a game where had to be at his best defensively. This is part of the learning curve for Kent and spending time on loan at a struggling side could improve his defensive frailties.
It’s also encouraging that Kent was given a start by Streich in such a big game. While he was withdrawn at the 66 minute mark, this seems to show that the Freiburg manager trusts Kent and will give him enough time to develop.
Kent claimed this week that he’d like to be the Bundesliga young player of the year, so he will definitely need game time to achieve his goal.
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However, Kent also has prove that he can adapt to Germany and that he can develop the football IQ that English players sometimes lack. Up to this point, it seems like he is repaying Freiburg’s trust in him.