Bayern Munich: No reason to panic after loss to Holstein Kiel
By Daniel Garza
Bayern Munich’s shock loss to Holstein Kiel doesn’t mean the season is lost.
For only the second time in the 21st century, Bayern Munich will not be advancing past the second round of the DFB-Pokal. They were met with a shocking defeat to Holstein Kiel on Wednesday night in a dramatic penalty shootout.
On a snowy night in Northern Germany, Die Roten were upset by the second division club who put together an impressive performance to defeat the Bundesliga giants. Although this defeat is not a welcome result for Bayern, it’s not a sign that success still can’t be achieved this season.
Two difficult results
The last week has not gone well for Bayern. After allowing Borussia Mönchengladbach to rally from 2-0 down and win on Matchday 15, this defeat to Holstein Kiel certainly adds to the disappointment of the recent results. Bayern continues to allow goals and the clean sheets have been hard to come by so far this season. These two results were bound to happen due to the issues plaguing the Bayern defense.
It’s difficult to take these losses as Bayern has been so dominant as of late. Watching Bayern lose a match has been a rare sight when tuning into a fixture in any competition Die Roten are playing in. However, Wednesday’s defeat was a good reminder that these results can happen to even the best clubs.
A recent example from Spain was Atletico Madrid’s loss in the second round of the Copa del Rey to UE Cornella who play in the Spanish third division. The current La Liga leaders found themselves upset by a lower division side as the magic of the domestic cup competitions was on full display. Bayern’s loss to Holstein Kiel was exactly what makes these cup competitions so special and unfortunately, Die Roten were on the losing end.
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No need to panic
With Bayern exiting the DFB-Pokal early, this allows them to focus solely on the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League campaigns. There’s still a lot to play for this season and titles can still be won, including the FIFA Club World Cup in February.
If Bayern can figure out their defensive issues then they should be able to claim another Bundesliga title and make a deep run in the Champions League knockout rounds. They have been doing well offensively for the most part with Robert Lewandowski leading the way as he continues to produce goals. This is still very much a team that can achieve success in the 2020/21 campaign.
The upcoming Bundesliga fixtures offer Bayern the opportunity to put together a nice run of form heading into the Champions League Round of 16 matches against Lazio. Beginning with Freiburg on Sunday, Die Roten can quickly turn things around and get back to winning ways.
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After Freiburg, their remaining fixtures in January are against clubs that are currently in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. This will offer Bayern the chance to get the defensive issues figured out and get back to winning ways.