Bayern Munich survive late scare to beat VfB Stuttgart
Bayern Munich made it two consecutive Bundesliga wins in a row on Saturday. Goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were enough for Bayern to clinch a narrow 2-1 win away at VfB Stuttgart. The home side provided a late scare, but the defending champions saw out the win and went back to the top of the Bundesliga points table.
Julian Nagelsmann decided to stick with the same midfield and attack that featured against Union Berlin last weekend. The German coach made one change in the defense with one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain. Josip Stanisic replaced Benjamin Pavard on the right side of the back three. The Croatian defender is in line to start against PSG since Pavard is suspended, so giving him game time on Saturday made sense.
Stuttgart made a positive start to the game as they pressed well and created some uncomfortable situations for visitors. The home side failed to make the most out of a good start as Bayern slowly seized control and started testing Fabian Bredlow on a regular basis. Joshua Kimmich unleashed a powerful shot from outside of the box in the 12th minute, but Bredlow managed to punch it out of danger.
Bredlow managed to keep it 0-0 during the first 30 minutes of the game. Die Roten was not at their best, but there was a passage of neat play in the final third. The breakthrough for Rekordmeister eventually came through an unlikely source in the 39th minute.
After clearing the ball off the line to keep it 0-0, de Ligt unleashed a venomous strike from outside the box to open the scoring for Bayern. Jamal Musiala played a quick one-two pass to set up the Dutch defender for a shot from outside the box.
Bayern continued to dominate the proceedings in the second half. They looked well in control by having the lion’s share of possession in Stuttgart’s half. The second goal at the hour mark showed how comfortable Bayern was on the ball after halftime. A lovely one-touch pass from Thomas Muller at the edge of the box created a big chance for Choupo-Moting. The Cameroon international took the chance and hammered the ball past Bredlow.
Nagelsmann made several changes at the hour mark. Despite a change of personnel, Stuttgart continued to concede several good chances. Slick passing was the theme of Die Roten’s game, but poor finishing didn’t allow them to get a comfortable win in Stuttgart.
The home side scored a good goal in the 87th minute to create a sense of panic amongst visitors. After dominating large parts of the game, Die Roten was defending for life during the last few minutes of the game to get all three points. The inefficiency in front of the goal may have cost Bayern on any other day as they managed to see out the victory on Saturday.
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There was a lot to like about Die Roten’s performance against Stuttgart, but Nagelsmann would like to see his forwards clinical in the final third. After the win on Saturday, the focus turns on the big Champions League against PSG on Wednesday at Allianz Arena.