Niko Kovac wants Bayern Munich to be more clinical
After Bayern Munich clinched a narrow victory over Paderborn, Niko Kovac urged his players to be more clinical in the final third.
Bayern Munich moved to the top of the table for the first time this season, courtesy of a 3-2 win over SC Paderborn on Saturday. The defending champions had to work hard to get all the three points against the newly-promoted side.
There is a strange pattern in Die Roten’s performances this season. Bayern dominate the proceedings from the word go but fail to finish the chances to put the game to bed. They were made to pay for their lack of ruthlessness against RB Leipzig, two weeks ago.
The Bavarians were on the cusp of dropping points on Saturday, due to their failure to take chances. Bayern created chances regularly in the first half but failed to convert them. Against the run of play, Paderborn scored in the second half, and Die Roten found themselves on backfoot.
However, Robert Lewandowski’s goal in 80th minute calmed the nerves, and the visitors saw out the game to take all three points. Speaking to media (via Fox Sports), Niko Kovac admitted that his team is making things difficult for them by missing big chances.
"“We made the game difficult for ourselves. We could’ve decided the match during the first half.”“In my opinion, we had to decide it. Second half, going into it with a 1-0 lead, even when it’s 2-0 or 2-1, that’s always a small advantage. We brought them back into the match, we didn’t play the way I wanted in the second half, but I’m satisfied with the result.”"
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Bayern can get away with such profligacy in front of goal against inferior teams, but in big games, they will be punished for these errors. Die Roten should also aim to create chances consistently throughout the game instead of dropping their intensity in the second half.
Kovac also had special praise for Philippe Coutinho after the against Paderborn. The Brazilian delivered yet another good performance on Saturday. He scored his first goal from open play for the German club and delivered a terrific assist for Serge Gnabry’s goal. The former Liverpool forward is slowly finding his feet in the Bundesliga.
Lewandowski also maintained his good goalscoring form against Paderborn. He became the first player in the Bundesliga to score ten goals in just six league games. The Pole missed a sitter at the start of the game. However, he managed to find the back of the net at the most crucial moment of the game.
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The Croatian manager will be hoping that his team improves in the final third against Tottenham Hotspurs on Tuesday. Bayern will be travelling to London on Monday to play the Premier League side in their second group game of this season. Playing against Spurs will be a good tactical test for Kovac despite the current form of the English side.