Bayern Munich fight off Anderlecht 2-1 in chaotic win

In what was surely the biggest struggle under the new Jupp Heynckes take over of Bayern Munich, the Bavarian giants showed real frailty in Belgium.

Another poor showing in the Champions League exposes Bayern Munich and their biggest holes yet to be filled. Bayern were under tremendous pressure in the group stage match against bottom-table Anderlecht. Jupp Heynckes will have to make some serious decisions with the squad in the coming weeks.

The match opened to what was among the shakiest displays Bayern have given this season. Anderlecht surprisingly bossed the German champions around the field. Couple that with some seriously untimely injuries, and things are looking a little scary for the season ahead.

A disastrous first-half

The first-half started and ended in surprising fashion. Not many would have suspected that the bottom-table team in the group would give Bayern Munich a run for their money. However, that’s precisely what happened. To Anderlecht’s credit, they played with passion and intensity.

The home side never gave Bayern a break on the ball with their high-pressing. Anderlecht frequently forced errors out of the Bayern Munich midfield and defense, leading to some frightening chances. Bayern would have been out of the game long ago were it not for Niklas Sule and Sven Ulreich.

Jerome Boateng had a horrid giveaway in defense allowing for a shot on goal, only for Ulreich to save heroically. Bayern can be thankful Lukasz Teodorczyk and the Anderlecht offensive was largely wasteful. Corentin Tolisso also had a shocking lapse in a lobbed ball that made it look as though he was trying to play for the opponents.

And again, the only factor stopping an early deficit was Teodorczyk’s poor finishing with the goal and Ulreich at his mercy. The midfield, namely Arturo Vidal and Tolisso, were sloppy in their passing and less than clinical, to put it lightly, in the first 45.

To make matters worse, Thiago was lost to a long-term thigh injury.

Scraping by in the last 45 minutes

The second-half saw marginal improvement from the visitors. However, it wasn’t without losing Arjen Robben just a few minutes after the kick-off. Talk about salt in the wounds. Anderlecht typically stuck to their game-plan, but Bayern at least looked better than stagnant offensively, and apparently that was enough for the breakthrough goal.

It was a James Rodriguez inspired counter-attack that gave way for the goal. After letting Tolisso loose, the young Frenchman played an immaculate pass to Robert Lewandowski at the far post for a simple tap-in.

At this point, it was a surprise Bayern Munich were winning. As for Tolisso, it was another ‘tale of two-halves’. After a poor first-half showing along with Vidal, Tolisso managed to string together a competent second-half performance.

Hopefully after getting more exposure under Heynckes — especially with the mounting injuries — Tolisso will step up from just making ‘improved’ performances over the course of a half. Consistency will be his biggest challenge, and now more than ever, he has to step up.

And as with this match, James will also have to feature every game and become the catalyst for goals for the foreseeable future. Soon after, lazy man-marking would rear its ugly head yet again. In the 63 minute, a cross into the Bayern box was eventually headed down to Sofiane Hanni, who slotted home to level the game.

Bayern escape again with 3 points

For Bayern and Jupp, this match should seem oddly familiar to the away game to Celtic. Complacency was ultimately what forced them to react. 77 minutes in, one more bit of quality was enough to see the game out.

Another vintage Joshua Kimmich run and cross down the right flank cemented the win. The Kid whipped in an accurate cross to meet the head of a rising Tolisso to nod home for the 2-1.

Like Tolisso, Kimmich also had a poor first-half and a more productive second. Attack in general in the first 45 was static and Kimmich was caught ball-watching in defense. But a moment of brilliance late on saved his performance.

Potentially hard times ahead

It was another day, another set of injuries for Bayern. Thankfully, a poor performance wasn’t enough to deprive the squad of three points. But given the circumstances, an already-qualified team losing two key players is quite bitter.

Next: Five takeaways as Bayern Munich edge past Anderlecht

In addition to having to once again find their defensive rhythm, injuries make matters more complicated. Jupp Heynckes will have to figure out how the club will make due without Robben or Thiago — the latter for about three months. James and Tolisso now more than ever have to find inspired form soon.