Bayern Munich win third consecutive 1-0 match vs. determined Stuttgart

Bayern Munich once again send fans on a roller-coaster of emotions, barely edging past an opponent in the lower third of the Bundesliga table.

Bayern’s matchday 17 fixture against Stuttgart should have shown some evidence of improvement or learning from the midweek match against Köln. The Bavarians faced yet another opposition that took the fight to them. The newly promoted Stuttgart side showed no fear when it came to attack, which coupled very nicely with the inclusion of former Bayern Munich player Holger Badstuber.

For the most part, the game was very uneventful. A few tackles here in there, a chance for each team every so often, but nothing to really make any major impact.

The past three matches that Bayern have stumbled through surely highlight the importance of players such as Thiago and Xabi Alonso. Where a midfield war is raging, all it would take it one perfectly timed pass (as they are known to do expertly) to create the chance to set the wheels in motion. Today’s team looked to lack any spark of creativity.

The normally electric James Rodriguez looked to be unlike his usual self. As great as his form is, he has played more minutes than almost anyone else for Bayern Munich. For reference, since matchday 9 against Hamburg, Joshua Kimmich has played 639 minutes out of 810, whereas James has played 669. His recent comments about wanting to stay at Bayern for a while are fantastic and hugely encouraging, but he will need to rest at some stage.

Stuttgart’s tough tackling and resilience could not be broken down easily. When Bayern did get the opportunity to put a chance away, they were met with a great performance from Ron-Robert Zieler. It was after a terrific save from a curling shot from Kingsley Coman that it became obvious that watching this opponent is presumably what watching Bayern is like for other teams.

The match did not really come alive in terms of entertainment until the last 10 minutes. As Corentin Tolisso came off after 65 minutes, Thomas Müller took to the field to disrupt any shape that Stuttgart were planning on holding. His impact came in the form of the match-winning goal. Kingsley Coman’s pass was controlled with Müller’s unpredictable right foot and his equally unpredictable left foot smashed the bouncing ball into the net. 79 minutes gone and Bayern took the lead in a match that – until that point – could have really gone either way.

Although the allegiance for all of us lies with Bayern through and through, a loss would not have been completely heart breaking as Stuttgart played very well throughout the game and really challenged for the points.

They were almost rewarded for their work in the dying seconds of the match however. After Niklas Süle had attempted to clear the ball, his leg followed through and kicked Santiago Ascacibar which lead to a penalty, decided through VAR.

Despite being whistled by his former fans for 90 minutes, Sven Ulreich once again came through for Bayern Munich in a time of need and saved the penalty from Chadrac Akolo and today’s captain Jerome Boateng cleared the ball far away into the stands for the final kick of the game.

Next: Bayern Munich leave it late to beat Stuttgart 1-0 -- Player grades

This was a tricky game and a one that was fought for. For the second game in a row, Bayern’s approach seemed to be wrong and Stuttgart made the most of it. Whether it was a creative flair like Thiago that was missing or even somebody like Renato Sanches to simply take the ball and charge forward, Bayern won but made hard work of it… again.