Bayern Munich: Takeaways from draw at Borussia Dortmund
Der Klassiker managed to live up to the hype on Saturday. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were involved in a thriller, a game that had a red card, a late equaliser, and plenty of goals. Die Roten will be disappointed with the result since they conceded an equaliser in the final minute of the game.
Bayern remains third in the Bundesliga after dropping two points against Dortmund. It was not a vintage performance from the defending champions, but Der Klassiker certainly had several takeaways for both teams. Let us look at the key takeaways for Bayern from a 2-2 draw against Dortmund on Saturday.
Bayern facing a crisis in defense
After keeping clean sheets in the last couple of games, Bayern defended poorly against Borussia Dortmund. The Bavarian club conceded numerous chances to Dortmund in the last 30 minutes of the game. Moreover, the equaliser was a culmination of numerous mistakes while defending the last set piece.
Die Roten still looks very shaky against teams that try to play on the counter. Nagelsmann needs to find a resolution to this issue sooner than later to avoid more poor results in big games. The German coach faces a crisis in defense on both fronts- performance-wise and injuries. Matthijs de Ligt suffered a knock on the adductor, while Alphonso Davies suffered a concussion against Dortmund. The next three games are very crucial for Bayern, so it will be intriguing to see how Nagelsmann addresses these problems in defense.
Leon Goretzka cementing a place in the midfield
Julian Nagelsmann will most likely stick with the midfield pairing of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the upcoming games. Kimmich has been undroppable for Nagelsmann, but Goretzka had to wait for his chance since Marcel Sabitzer had a very good start to the season. The German midfielder was also on the sidelines due to a knee injury. However, Goretzka has made it difficult to drop him by delivering two consecutive good performances.
After enjoying a productive performance in the number eight role against Plzen, Goretzka was even better against Dortmund. The German international initially played in a deeper role and provided thrust in the midfield. He came up with the crucial goal in the first half to provide much-needed momentum to Bayern in the first half.
Goretzka excelled as an eight in the second half after Kimmich slotted in the number six position. He was a constant threat in the final third by making late runs in the box. Moreover, his passing was also posing threat higher up the pitch. Goretzka may have played himself back into the starting XI after a solid outing in Dortmund.
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Poor game management by Bayern Munich
Despite not controlling the majority of the game in the first 70 minutes, Bayern managed the game well. They had taken a two-goal lead and stopped Dortmund from creating big chances on a consistent basis. However, the defending Bundesliga champions couldn’t sustain the same process in the final 20 minutes.
Dortmund deserves a lot of credit for piling the pressure on Die Roten, but the visitors also contributed to the change in momentum. Poor passing and eagerness to move the ball quickly instead of slowing things down were some of the mistakes committed by Bayern in the final quarter of the game. Much better game management would have ensured Die Roten returned to Munich with all three points.