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Have Bayern Munich Underwhelmed in the First Half of the Bundesliga?

By Kelly Krigger

The team players of FC Bayern Munich respect a minute of silence for victims of a terror attack at a christmas market in Berlin prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig in Munich, Germany, on December 21, 2016. CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
The team players of FC Bayern Munich respect a minute of silence for victims of a terror attack at a christmas market in Berlin prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig in Munich, Germany, on December 21, 2016. CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich has had their fair share of struggles in the first half of the Bundesliga season.  That being said, even with one of their rougher stretches of play in recent years, they have still managed to finish the halfway mark at the top of the table.

While Bayern Munich seems to some as to of lost some of the domestic dominance they have displayed in past years, I would argue that pundits against Bayern are over reacting.  Even though their play seemed subpar at times and that is not what we have come to expect with Bayern Munich, it is not cause for mass panic. However, expecting a team to come out every season and completely dominant is unrealistic.  Even though Bayern Munich to see the struggling right now for looking out a form they’re still first in the end they still won the Bundesliga four times in a row and are hungry for a fifth.

Individual performances like performances from Frank Ribery, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Cosa have all been major factors in Bayern Munich success so far.  However, players like Thomas Muller have struggled to play make in the way that they have in previous seasons. Collectively, Bayern has looked less dangerous than they have in the past, but they are still trying to work out the kinks of having a new manager.

Also, critics are saying Bayern Munich looks less than convincing even if their peers still don’t really match up with them. This is demonstrated as not true by last week’s 3-0 victory over Leipzig.  With a first half that was hailed as perfect by Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern found a decisive victory over their closest competitors thus far in the Bundesliga. The game was expected to be much closer than 3-0, showing that at times Bayern can look sharp and that the times of struggle are temporary.

In terms of formation, the 4-3-3 favorite by Carlo Ancelotti looked overly the cautious at times for the caliber of teams Bayern faced. At many points three midfielders looked like one or two too many, slowing Bayern’s game and making more predictable.

In summary, Bayern could have been better but their performance is not as bad as pundits are saying. With 12 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss for a total of 39 points, it hasn’t been a dramatically bad start to the season. Yes there are some kinks to work out, but isn’t there always?  The second half of the season will certainly be an interesting journey, but there is certainly plenty of reasons to be optimistic about it.