Mario Gomez scores on return to Bundesliga action

Mario Gomez’s 26 goals were second highest in last season’s Bundesliga, but before Saturday’s match against Hannover, the German international had been kept off the scoresheet this year. The main reason: He’s barely played, missing almost all the season-to-date with an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old returned mid-week in Champions League, coming off the bench to assist on Thomas Müller’s equalizer in Valencia.

He was also on the bench against today in Munich, but thanks to a dominant performance from the Bundesliga’s leaders, Gomez was able to come on in the 66th minute.

In the 67th minute, this happened:

And there you have the case for Mario Gomez, because as good as Mario Mandzukic has been (and he has been very good, leading the league with nine goals since moving from Wolfsburg), he’s a completely different kind of player than one who will plow through a man to win a goal. Gomez is more of a true No. 9. Mandzukic is an all-arounder.

But does that necessarily mean Jupp Heynckes is going to go back to Gomez? Probably not immediately. To this point, Bayern’s 11-1-1 in league, have a nine-point lead on second place Dortmund, and are averaging just under three goals per game.

The results have quietly added credence to some preseason criticisms of Gomez, some of which came from within the team. Within Bayern, where around each corner there’s another legend with another opinion, there were voices questioning Gomez’s ability, with Uli Hoeness going out of his way to call him a good (not great) player. If Gomez was handed a substitute’s role, it wouldn’t create much of a stir at the club.

Don’t expect anything definitive from Heynckes in the short-term. Odds are you’ll see the head coach take it game-by-game once Gomez is capable of playing 90, picking his players based on fitness, form, and foe. Sometimes it will be Mandzukic, others Gomez, others both, with Mandzukic capable of doing more than being nine-ish.

We don’t know if Gomez will win his spot back. All we know is his health gives Heynckes the option.