Takeaways as Bayern Munich emerge victorious against Union Berlin

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Bayern Munich’s French defender Benjamin Pavard (R-L) celebrates scoring their second goal with Bayern Munich’s German defender Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich’s French forward Kingsley Coman and Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Serge Gnabry during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Union Berlin v FC Bayern Munich on May 17, 2020 in Berlin, Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Bayern were rusty

As previously stated, Bayern Munich did not have a clean performance, and the first 30 minutes were particularly poor. Only having a couple of weeks of real training showed in this match, and their playing style did not help matters.

Die Roten plays a dominating possession style with lots of direct passing and quick interchanges between players. This game plan requires players to show decisiveness with passes, and when playing a team that will sit deep, the passing needs to be on point, which Bayern struggled to achieve.

The sloppiness in play was observed in all departments, including defense. Apart from Pavard, all defenders struggled for Die Roten. He had a good outing defensively and also contributed in the final third by scoring the second goal of the game.

Other defenders had individual issues throughout the match. Whether it was a bad pass or disrupting the defensive line, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, and Alphonso Davies committed mistakes at various points in the game. They will have to improve as tougher games lie ahead in the next four weeks.

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Davies did show glimpses of his world-class form when attacking, getting in good positions, and sending in good crosses, but his defending left a lot to be desired. None of these performances were detrimental enough to concede a goal, but they must be improved. It was nice to see Manuel Neuer keep up his form after the break, coming out for crosses and dominating his area.

Things weren’t all doom and gloom for Bayern, though. Several players had fared well on Sunday. They just need more match time to get back to peak fitness levels. Thomas Muller did well on the right flank, creating all sorts of problems for Union Berlin’s defense. Lewandowski continued his hot form with a goal from the penalty spot. The Polish forward fared well as number nine, showing neat touches in and around the box. Leon Goretzka also showed promise while playing in the attacking midfield position.