Bayern Munich needs to be ruthless against RB Salzburg
It has been a strange year for Bayern Munich until now. Barring a couple of poor results, Die Roten had done well under Julian Nagelsmann in the Hinrunde. The Bavarian club was expected to get even better in Ruckrunde, but performances have been anything but consistent for the first team.
The game against Bayer Leverkusen also showed Bayern’s inability to not control the game over 90 minutes. After getting an early goal, Die Roten couldn’t add more pressure on Leverkusen. Moreover, the visitors grew in confidence as the game went on and deservedly got the equalizer.
The defense has lacked balance due to the absence of Alphonso Davies. Julian Nagelsmann has tried different systems to compensate for the absence of Davies, but the team has lacked overall balance across all formations.
Apart from inconsistency, Bayern has not been ruthless in the past few weeks. For the time being, if the team is not able to maintain intensity over 90 minutes, then the players at both ends of the pitch need to become more ruthless.
Just like the last six campaigns, Robert Lewandowski has been the primary goalscorer for Die Roten this season. The Polish striker is currently on track to score 50 goals across all competitions. However, other forwards have not stepped up to score consistently in the past few weeks.
Tuesday’s game against RB Salzburg demands Die Roten to be much more efficient in the final third. The first leg was a difficult watch for Bayern fans as Salzburg managed to outperform them. The hosts almost clinched the victory until Kingsley Coman stepped up to score a decisive equalizer late in the second half.
Rekordmeister cannot afford to have a repeat of the performance that took place in Austria two weeks ago. Nagelsmann still doesn’t have Davies available for selection, but he desperately needs a complete performance in the biggest game of the season until now.
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For starters, Bayern should be looking to start the game strongly and put Salzburg on the backfoot. Even after getting an early goal, Die Roten should make sure they put the tie to bed before Salzburg settles in the game. A strong performance on Tuesday can set the tone for the rest of the campaign.
Nagelsmann may opt for an ultra-attacking lineup for this game by selecting all of their senior attacking players and a back three. This system is yet to bring positive results for Die Roten, but it could work on Tuesday in a knockout game.