Bayern Munich grind out 3-0 win against Anderlecht in Champions League opener
While still taking some gradual steps forward performance-wise, Bayern Munich brought down 10-man Anderlecht to open up the Champions League campaign with 3 points.
Bayern Munich are not quite up to their best, but that the Bavarian’s won is most important. One would think that the scoreline indicated relative ease from the victory, but looks can be deceiving. Despite playing with 10 men, Anderlecht proved stubborn for their opponents. Bayern looked more focused and organized, but their attack needs refinement.
The match opened to a more confident start for Bayern Munich. It was clear from the get-go that the Bavarians would be the tone-setters.
Bayern held the lion’s share of the possession and swarmed the Belgian side’s back line. Ultimately, the first dent in Anderlecht’s defense came from poor decision making from Sven Kums. He was well beaten and, out of desperation, pulled Lewandowski down.
The call should have admittedly been made for a free-kick outside the penalty box after reviewing the play. Nevertheless, Lewandowski made the most of the opportunity and netted for the 1-0. Once the Belgian side were down a man, it seemed inevitable Bayern would cruise the rest of the way. Not so, as Anderlecht somehow managed to maintain a stubborn defense to frustrate the Bavarian attack.
More organized in defense
As for the positives, the defense looked more composed than against Hoffenheim. The welcome surprise in that department is Rafinha. The veteran Brazilian-German looked much more disciplined in both attack and defense. Rafinha was rarely caught in compromising positions in the back and often stood his ground making decisive interceptions and tackles.
While Ribery’s chemistry with Rafinha wasn’t as strong as it usually is with David Alaba, he was definitely more useful offensively than on the weekend. The rest of the back line was mostly composed as well.
Niklas Süle has clearly proven that he is a reliable wall in the back and can comfortably line-up along any three of his center-back teammates. Aside from an early foul, he was quick and strong in stripping Anderlecht’s offense of the ball with accurate tackles and interceptions and by muscling the opposition away from Neuer’s goal.
Javi MartĂnez looked shaky during some of Anderlecht’s chances, but overall was comfortable alongside SĂĽle. It still needs to be said that those few chances were fairly embarrassing on Bayern defensively.
Anderlecht got way too close for comfort at times when they clearly shouldn’t have been shown much of the goal. Getting caught sleeping from overconfidence can lead to shocking results, as we’ve seen before.
Kimmich also looked more mature this time around at right-back. The youngster’s one-on-one defending could use some sharpening, but he generally contributed well to defense. Kimmich’s crosses weren’t all perfect, but he clearly showed his talents with an absolute peach of a ball serving up Thiago to make it 2-0 and his skillful control that created his goal.
More active in central-midfield
The player here who stole the show (and my man of the match) was Thiago. The Spanish midfield maestro clearly looked in control in the middle, with a whopping 107/115 successful passes for a total of 93% accuracy.
Thiago tirelessly drifted and transitioned the play from side-to-side and back and forth with his passing, and even tracked back to defend with tenacity. Needless to say, his well-timed run in to meet Kimmich’s cross was the icing on the cake.
Corentin Tolisso also had a solid showing on the day. With the exception of a few misplaced passes, the Frenchman looked like a younger and more disciplined Vidal at times.
As opposed to the weekend at Hoffenheim, Tolisso showed more attentiveness to helping shield the defense. In attack, he rarely put a foot wrong in his passing, and would occasionally distribute some great long-passes. His excellent long ball over to Lewandowski that led to the penalty call being one of his most notable passes.
James RodrĂguez had a decent showing, but understandably needs more game-time to meld in. James was quite energetic in midfield, and from time to time would pick out some impressive passes only to be disappointed by his teammate’s finishing. The Colombian didn’t quite shine, but he’s showing desire and if he keeps the drive, the success will show.
An unfortunately static offense
With every game there’s areas of improvement. As mentioned, while the score-line says one thing, what took place on the pitch didn’t exactly reflect a typical 3-0. The largest negative of the match was the unusually lackluster attack.
Even with a penalty goal, Lewandowski’s performance was frustrating. The Pole made poor/late decisions in the final third and was too selfish in his play.
On the wings, Franck Ribery looked busy, but due to Bayern’s obsession with overloading the left-flank to attack, offensive play proved to be predictable for a while. Meanwhile on the right, Arjen Robben still looked rather toothless. Robben too often either cheaply lost possession or failed to take advantage of chances given to him.
This isn’t to take away from Anderlecht, however. For being a man down, they played rather admirably. Their crowded defense was stubborn, at least for a chunk of the match. Several times the Bayern midfield was forced to play back or sideways around the penalty area due to useless movement from the Bavarians’ attackers.
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Ultimately, what is most important is that Bayern picked up a solid three points to open the Champions League campaign. That being said, the German club needs to to continue to tighten the ship at both ends of the field if they’re to look convincing at the business end of the season. At some point, gradual improvements won’t be enough against the rest of Europe’s finest.
*Note: Unless otherwise stated, all stats are taken from WhoScored.com