Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac is pleased with his team’s performance, despite their narrow defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker.
It was yet another disappointing weekend for Bayern Munich, as they dropped points in the Bundesliga for the second consecutive week. Borussia Dortmund twice came from behind to beat the Bavarians at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday. Bayern trail BVB by seven points in the league and have slipped down to fifth in the table.
There has been lately much criticism of Bayern’s style of play this season. They haven’t totally convinced, often grinding out results. Niko Kovac, however, was pretty satisfied with his team’s display against Dortmund.
Speaking after the match (via Goal), the Croatian said his team dominated the first half, but couldn’t maintain the same intensity. He further added this was the best performance from his players since their away win over Schalke in September.
"“We saw a fantastic football match from both sides today. It was an open game.“Unfortunately, we lost the game, even though it could have been a draw. You can be satisfied with the performance. That was the best game since Schalke: playful, combative and tactical, especially in the first half. We will have to build on that and deliver more games in the future.”"
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
- Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
- Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl
Bayern Munich made a superb start against Borussia Dortmund. The players pressed brilliantly to put pressure on Dortmund’s inexperienced back four and dominated the first half. They were vulnerable to counter-attacks but kept piling on the pressure in the final third. Robert Lewandowski eventually got the lead and Bayern were right on top going into halftime.
Dortmund went all guns blazing in the second half as Lucien Favre made a couple of changes. They quickly got an equaliser, but their momentum was squashed quickly as Lewandowski scored from close range to restore Bayern’s lead.
They had things under control, but Bayern’s defense let Kovac down once again, conceding two goals in the space in the of six minutes. After taking the lead, then scoring a subsequent equalizer, Dortmund took control of the match.
Kovac might be pleased with his attacking players’ displays in Der Klassiker, but he will be very concerned with the travesty from his defense who have struggled to keep a clean sheet this season.
The constant rotation of personnel in central defense is one of the main reasons for this defensive fragility. Kovac needs to make a decision on his first choice centre-back pairing. He needs to give his preferred pairing a run of games interrupted to help establish some stability at the back.
The international break has come at the wrong moment for Kovac. There is going to be a lot of speculation about his future at the club. Bayern’s chiefs have publicly backed him to turn things around sooner rather than later. They will be expecting the Croatian to avoid dropping points in the remaining games of 2018.