It was a disappointing weekend for Bayern Munich as they suffered the third league defeat of the season. A sluggish first half against Eintracht Frankfurt lead to 2-1 defeat for the German Champions on Saturday.
The defeat in game week 22 has meant that Bayern has dropped five points in a week. They had dropped two points against Arminia Bielefeld on Monday. Courtesy of these two poor results, RB Leipzig could be three points away from Die Roten if they win their game. Ahead of the crucial Champions League tie against Lazio, here are key lessons learned from defeat in Frankfurt.
Experiment to play Sule as right-back needs to stop
Right-back has been a problem position for Hansi Flick this season. Benjamin Pavard has failed to emulate last season’s performances, while Bouna Sarr has not looked convincing in the limited opportunities he has got since joining the club from Marseille in the summer. Pavard has got better in the last few weeks. Just when he was building some sort of momentum, he was tested positive for coronavirus this week.
Flick decided to utilise Niklas Sule in the right-back position against Frankfurt. He has used him in that hybrid center-back/ full-back role this season, but that experiment needs to stop. Sule is not a right-back, and using him in that role makes the team too lopsided and predictable. Moreover, Die Roten also looks poor defensively as Sule is often caught between playing as full-back and center-back. He was beaten easily by attacking players on both goals. Flick needs to come up with a better solution instead of sticking with Sule in the right-back position.
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Choupo-Moting struggles in the number ten role
Similar to Sule, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been another player that was playing in an unusual role on Saturday. The Cameroon striker was used as a number ten since Muller remains in isolation after being tested positive for coronavirus in Qatar last week.
Choupo-Moting struggled to make an impact throughout the game. It is not his fault since he largely operates as a striker. He was neither timing runs to perfection in the final third to stretch Frankfurt’s defense nor taking up good positions between the lines to receive the ball. Jamal Musiala doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he would be much more suited to play in that number ten role until Muller returns to full fitness.
Fringe players not grabbing rare opportunities
Bayern added depth to the squad during the summer transfer window. Apart from Leroy Sane, the remaining five signings were brought in to provide competition for places in the team. However, Die Roten’s plans have not gone as per plan since fringe players have failed to grab opportunities.
After showing promising signs in his last two appearances, Marc Roca was hooked at halftime against Eintracht Frankfurt due to sluggish first-half performances. Choupo-Moting also failed to step up in the absence of Muller. Sarr and Douglas Costa have been underwhelming on the pitch. Going into the final and crucial phase of the season, Rekordmeister needs squad players to step up and come up with consistent performances.