Bayern Munich: Takeaways from 1-0 defeat against Villarreal
Bayern Munich had an unforgettable trip to Estadio de la Cerámica on Wednesday as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Villarreal in the Champions League. Bayern’s lack of consistency continues since the start of 2022. The Bavarian side conceded the goal in the early minutes of the game as Arnaut Danjuma showed great awareness in the box. The visitors couldn’t gather themselves and make a comeback in the game. Let us look at the key takeaways from the game.
Alphonso Davies’s ‘comeback’
The Canadian international finally returned to the Bayern Munich line-up following a layoff of four months due to myocarditis. Davies took some time to settle in the game as he initially looked rusty. He looked far more purposeful in the second half as he managed to make a crucial last-ditch tackle to stop the Spanish side from doubling the lead.
Davies went on to make another excellent block to deny Giovanni Lo Celso from taking a clearcut shot. While the result was not ideal for Bayern, the positive return of Davies will certainly help them in delivering a much better performance against the Spanish side in Allianz Arena.
The Midfield failure
Bayern’s midfield was not at its best defensive as Nagelsmann adopted a much more attacking approach by starting Jamal Musiala as the number eight. Leon Goretzka had started on the bench as Die Roten cautiously manage his return from the knee injury.
Villarreal’s Dani Parejo and Étienne Capoue dominated the game due to a lack of coordination between Bayern midfielders. However, the Bavarian side managed to have possession of 62% during the game but failed to score a goal despite having 22 shots and completing 481 passes. The Bavarian midfield had a big volume of possession but they couldn’t provide the cutting edge.
Bayern’s midfield was poor in the first half, as Villarreal was able to play through them and threaten the back four. Die Roten’s back four was often left exposed as the midfielders pushed forward in search of the goal. Julian Nagelsmann will be looking for a much better balance in attack and defense when they host Villarreal next week.
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Bayern’s Tactical Errors
The loss against Villarreal on Wednesday was Bayern’s first defeat away from home in the Champions League since 2017. The German coach made some very crucial changes in the lineup by playing Kingsley Coman on the right and Serge Gnabry on the left. This led to a lack of attacking consistency from the Bavarian Side, which eventually contributed to a lack of goals.
A few more tactical errors from the defending German Champions led to a loss against the Spaniards. Moreover, there were several individual errors that led to overall poor performance for Die Roten.