Bayern Munich continues to keep collecting wins without getting into third or fourth gear. The latest win came against Al Ahly in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup on Monday in Qatar. Die Roten clinched a comfortable 2-0 win against the African Champions to book a place in the final against Tigres UANL on Thursday.
The European Champions scored goals in either half to clinch the sixth win in a row across all competitions. Robert Lewandowski scored one early in the first half and late in the second half to once again show that he is the best goalscorer in the world, scoring goals for fun in every competition and every stadium.
The scoreline may suggest that Al Ahly struggled against Die Roten, but they were resolute defensively to keep the German club on its toes throughout the game. Despite conceding early, they made sure that the game doesn’t slip from their hands quickly and gave themselves a chance until the 80th minute to take it to the extra time.
Despite a brave effort from the Egyptian side, Rekordmeister remained professional and saw out the victory in the normal time. Before the building up towards the final of the sixth trophy in the last eight months for Bayern, let us look at the possible takeaways from the win on Monday.
Roca enables Kimmich to play higher up the pitch
After a good performance against Hoffenheim, Flick decided to rest Marc Roca against Hertha Berlin on Friday. The Spaniard was trusted by the German manager during the semi-final clash against Hertha Berlin. Roca made sure that Flick’s decision was spot on.
The Spaniard was neat and tidy on the ball, completing 63 of his 68 attempted passes during his time on the pitch. Most importantly, Roca’s presence gave Joshua Kimmich the license to venture ahead and contribute in the final third. The German midfielder excels in finding players between the lines and also switches the play with ease.
Meanwhile, Roca provided the defensive solidity. Die Roten looked vulnerable to counter-attacks, but the Spaniard was holding his position and sniffing danger at the right time. He ended up making four recoveries in the center of the park. (Stats courtesy: Fotmob)
There is still a long way to go for Roca to establish himself as a regular in the starting XI at Bayern. Flick will turn to the pivot of Leon Goretzka and Kimmich once the former is completely fit. However, Roca has shown enough to be used as the deepest midfielder to allow Kimmich to thrive higher up the pitch. If he keeps up this form, then there will be more chances for him as the season progresses.
Pressing in the final third lacks intensity
Bayern was comfortable on the ball against Al Ahly. The players were not making errors in the build-up play in their half. While creating chances 100% efficiency is impossible, so whenever Die Roten was losing the ball in the final third, the pressing from players was not as intense as it used to be last season.
The weather in Qatar could be one of the reasons why the attacking players and midfielders were not spending energy to press higher up the pitch. However, this has been a constant trend in Bayern’s games since November. The accumulation of fatigue has played a role in the decrease in the pressing intensity as games are coming thick and fast.
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Understandably, pressing in the final third has dropped, but Bayern is yet to come up with plans to minimize the consequences of poor press. Teams often find it easy to play through the middle and get themselves in dangerous positions due to a lack of counter-press from Bavarian players.
Al Ahly also managed to carry the ball at large lengths of the pitch during the second half as there was no aggressive pressing from the team. Conserving the energy of players for the final phase of the season might be a clever idea from Hansi Flick, but he needs to find a way to reduce chances conceded by the team through alternate ways.
Coman is looking unplayable at the moment
Kingsley Coman has been Bayern’s best wide player this season. The French winger was at his best against Al Ahly on Monday. The Egyptian side was finding it difficult to contain him as he kept swapping flanks, holding the width, and beating players with his dribbles.
Coman created four chances for Bayern on Monday. The French winger also completed 50% of his dribbles and put in a shift to help the full-back. Along with creating chances, Coman was also efficient with passing across the pitch, maintaining a healthy 85% of passes attempted during the game. (Stats courtesy: Fotmob)
The all-round development of Coman’s game has been commendable in the last six months. The goal against Paris-Saint Germain has somewhat triggered the best phase of Coman’s career in Bavaria. He is no longer the young frustrating winger that does a lot of good things but lacks the final product.
The Frenchman’s performance against Al Ahly has become a norm for the Bavarian faithful this season. Coman is likely to get even better as he is yet to enter the prime years of his career. At the moment, Coman is looking unplayable. He will have a big role to play if Die Roten wants to defend the Champions League title.