Bayern Munich: Oliver Kahn wants defensive improvement
Bayern Munich endured a very difficult Saturday afternoon as VfL Bochum stunned them by scoring four goals in the first half. The defending Bundesliga champions ended up suffering their fourth defeat of the league campaign.
Die Roten can suffer defeats throughout the season, but the nature of the weekend’s defeat in Bochum was concerning. The Bavarian club’s defense and midfield were all over the place as Bochum created dangerous chances throughout the game.
Along with poor defensive organisation, Die Roten also lacked intensity in pressing and winning the ball higher up the pitch. Robert Lewandowski scored two good goals, but overall, it was an alarming performance from the first team. They need to show significant improvement ahead of the crucial phase of the season.
After the defeat against Bochum on Saturday, Julian Nagelsmann was very critical about his team’s performance but defended his decision to play only one holding midfielder. Meanwhile, club CEO Oliver Kahn insisted that defensive lapses have been the theme of the team in the past few seasons. While talking to media on Monday (via Sky Sports), Kahn outlined the defensive issues in the current squad.
"“When you lose by a big score, the mentality topic is always brought up. We’re lacking a lot defensively in tracking back and also in the work off the ball, not only this season but also in previous seasons. We’re conceding too many goals.”“That’s something we have to start with, we have to make sure we work with more discipline and passion off the ball again. Otherwise, mistakes will be punished immediately and mercilessly – and even more on an international level.”"
Die Roten encountered similar problems during Hansi Flick’s second season. The Bavarian club has a strong set of offensive players, so they will outscore the opposition in most cases. However, they have struggled to go on a long run of clean sheets. There is always a lapse of concentration collectively or individually in every alternate game that leads to poor goals.
Bayern paid the price for inconsistency at the back during last season’s first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. The team ended up conceding three goals at Allianz Arena, which eventually led to their elimination from the Champions League.
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Julian Nagelsmann’s previous teams in the Bundesliga were known for being defensively solid. His RB Leipzig team even had the best defensive record in the Bundesliga for one season. The German coach will be hoping to bring Die Roten to the same level sooner rather than late.
In the short term, it will be interesting to see how Rekordmeister will react after the defeat against Bochum. They turn their focus towards the Champions League as they travel away to Austria for the first game against Red Bull Salzburg. It is crucial for them to get a clean sheet in this game and come back home with a comfortable lead.