Bayern Strikes
Fansided

Five ways Bayern Munich can tackle Robert Lewandowski’s absence

By Kiran Thakare

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Muenchen at Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Muenchen at Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Serge Gnabry of FC Bayern Muenchen is celebrating his second goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Muenchen at Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2020, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Serge Gnabry of FC Bayern Muenchen is celebrating his second goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Muenchen at Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2020, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /

Deploy Serge Gnabry as number nine

One of the reasons behind Bayern’s resurgence in Ruckrunde has been that Lewandowski was not the only one scoring goals. At the right time of the season, numerous players were chipping in with goals to decrease the burden on the Polish striker.

Serge Gnabry has been a major contributor to goals for Die Roten in the past few weeks. He scored a brace against Paderborn and Chelsea to give Bayern much needed wins. The German winger already has 16 goals to his name across all competitions this season.

More from Analysis

Gnabry will have an even bigger role to play in Lewandowski’s absence. Flick can continue with his preferred formation by moving Gnabry in the number nine role. The German forward has the experience of playing in this position as Joachim Low has deployed Gnabry in that role for Germany.

Coutinho, Coman, and Muller can form the three-man attack behind Gnabry. These three players will provide the right service to Gnabry in the final third. The only concern with Gnabry playing in the number nine role is that he will struggle to impose himself on physically strong center-backs. Since he is in good form now, I think Gnabry will come good in this role despite a few tactical limitations.