Bayern Munich: Salient features of record title win
Bayern’s Bundesliga campaign was neither a sparkling one under Julian Nagelsmann nor it was a bruising one others had anticipated. This season was a transition phase for the Bayern Munich as the club had some changes in the management with key players leaving the squad.
With a new coach, a new CEO with Oliver Kahn, and a new backline after the departure of David Alaba and Javi Martinez, the Bavarian Side has maintained to be the dominant force in the Bundesliga.
Die Roten sealed their title with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund few days ago with three games to spare. Bayern won their 10th consecutive Bundesliga title and 32nd overall. After an opening draw against Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayern won their 10 league matches consecutively. These wins helped the German Champions quickly take control of the title race. Let us look at some of the salient features of this campaign.
A New Management
Hansi Flick left the club for the German national team after leading the Bavarian Side to two successive Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy in 2020–21. In came RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann, who brought Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer along with him after Bayern lost former defensive standouts in David Alaba, Javí Martinez and Jérôme Boateng to free transfers. The new transition phase for the Bavarian Side was full of ups and downs in this campaign but managed to clinch the Bundesliga title.
The flawless Attack
With Robert Lewandowski scoring at will and Thomas Muller delivering assists, the Bavarian side set for an easy title defense this time. Lewandowski has scored 48 goals in 41 club games this season and has been the most effective player this season. In the Bundesliga, he has managed to score 33 goals in 32 goals. Along with Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and Thomas Muller have enjoyed a good run of form across the season. The Bavarian club has scored a whopping 93 goals in 32 games this season, averaging almost three goals per game.
The glaring weakness at the back
Bayern didn’t enjoy a similar flawless streak at the back as they did in the final third. They have conceded 33 goals in the league until now, averaging just above one goal per game. The Bavarian club looked defensively solid in the Hinrunde, but they couldn’t maintain this solidity in the second half of the season. In the Ruckrunde, Rekordmeister conceded several poor goals in the Bundesliga.
Die Roten’s defensive vulnerability had only a limited impact since the other teams were not consistent enough to capitalise on their errors. However, poor defensive shape/performances caught up with them in the cup competitions. They suffered a heavy defeat against Gladbach in DFB Pokal, while Villarreal breached their defense comfortably over the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final.
Next. Takeaways from 3-1 defeat against Mainz. dark
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Interestingly, only one of their run of titles was won by a single-figure points gap and is not solely down to the Bavarian club’s lofty standards at that time. With two games to go, Bayern still has a good chance of ending the season with a lead of more than ten points at the top of the table. It has not been a vintage title win since the team showed vulnerability. The club hierarchy has work to do in the summer to strengthen the team and make them a much more solid unit.