The start of the new year has been far from ideal for Bayern Munich. There was a covid outbreak in the squad during the winter break, which saw close to ten players missing the game against Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
Courtesy of so many absentees and available players operating in different roles, Die Roten suffered a 2-1 defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach in the first game of Ruckrunde. The Bavarian club’s lead at the top of the points table will be trimmed to six points if Borussia Dortmund wins against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.
A disjointed performance from Bayern on Friday was expected, but Nagelsmann will be disappointed how the game unfolded on Friday. The home side started brightly and looked in total control for the first 25 minutes. They managed to get a well-worked goal during this period but lost all the control for the rest of the half and conceded two cheap goals.
Die Roten kept on piling the pressure on Gladbach during the second half, but the visitors held firm to get all three points from the game. Gladbach remains unbeaten against Die Roten this season after playing three games across all competitions. Let us look at some of the key takeaways from Die Roten’s third Bundesliga defeat of the season.
Muller and Lewandowski enjoy telepathy in the final third for Bayern
The last two years have seen an extraordinary linkup between Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller in the final third. The two veteran forwards almost enjoy telepathy in the final third, which was displayed on numerous occasions against Gladbach.
Muller picked up an inch-perfect pass to find Lewandowski for the opener. There was very little scope for error in that pass since a Gladbach defender was tightly marking Lewandowski. Muller made the pass look effortless, while the Polish striker’s finishing was incredible.
The two experienced players in the starting lineup on Friday kept on working well throughout the game. Muller played six key passes, with most of them leading towards Lewandowski. Moreover, both of them contributed to nine shots during the game. Everything good for Rekordmeister in the final third was going through them. (Stats courtesy: Whoscored)
Ever since Muller’s redemption under Hansi Flick in 2019, he has been prolific in terms of setting up goals. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has been the most prolific goalscorer in Europe at the same time. Both of them have started in 2022 with very good individual performances. Die Roten will be hoping for similar fireworks in the final third for the rest of the year from the club’s most experienced forwards.
Defensive lapses continue to cost Bayern
Even though Rekordmeister dropped points on Friday, they remain on course to defend the Bundesliga title if they perform the way they did in Hinrunde. However, the performance against Gladbach does raise concerns about the club’s hopes to win the Champions League this season.
After enjoying dominance in the first 25 minutes, Die Roten had two lapses in concentration at the back. Niklas Sule left Florian Neuhaus unmarked for the first goal, while Benjamin Pavard was easily beaten in the air during the second goal. Both goals could have been avoided if the team was much more switched on.
It has been the same story for Rekordmeister throughout the season. They have been conceding poor goals in the Bundesliga that often gives a route to opposition to come back in the games. The defending Bundesliga champions have kept only six clean sheets in the league after 18 matchdays.
Die Roten can get away with these defensive lapses in the league, but these problems at the back can haunt them in knockout games of the Champions League. Julian Nagelsmann’s teams in the past have been defensively solid, which makes Die Roten’s poor defensive show this season even more surprising. The German coach will be looking to address this problem in the next few weeks before Champions League resumes in February.
Youngsters looked promising in cameos for Bayern
The biggest positive for Rekordmeister on Friday was seeing young players from the reserves team getting their debuts for the first team. Nagelsmann decided to bring on Paul Wanner and Lucas Copado in the second half when Die Roten was looking for the equaliser.
Wanner became the youngest player (16) to represent Bayern in the Bundesliga. Both players had some neat touches during their 15-minute cameos. Both of them will remember this day for a long time even though the result was not favourable for Rekordmeister.
The sample size is very small to judge these two players at the top level, but the composure shown by them on Friday was commendable. Rekordmeister has always focussed on getting young players from the reserves in the first team, so Wanner and Copado can be hopeful about their futures in Bavaria.
Jamal Musiala is a fine example for Wanner and Copado in the Bayern setup. The young forward has become a key player in the first team after making his debut at the start of the 2020/21 season. He has not looked back since his debut and established himself as one of the best young players in Europe. Wanner and Copado will also look to follow the same path and become key players Die Roten in the future.