Bayern Munich: Lessons learnt from defeat against RB Leipzig
By Isaac Rivers
On Matchday 33 of the Bundesliga campaign, Bayern Munich were looking to stay atop the table as they hosted third-place RB Leipzig in the penultimate match of the season. A win for Bayern sees them winning the title by their own fruition; however, a loss means they need some help as they would need Dortmund to lose one, if not both, of their final games.
After a solid first-half performance, Bayern collapsed in the second half. Leipzig took an astounding lead in the final 30 minutes of the game. Completely losing the plot as the game went on, Bayern went on to lose 3-1 to Leipzig– with their fate of the season resting in Dortmund’s hands. Here are some of the lessons we learned from this crushing loss as the season is one game away from its close.
No more sitting back after taking the lead
If you take last week against Schalke out of the picture, Bayern has been way too comfortable sitting back with the lead as of late. The lesson learned from this brutal defeat against Leipzig is that Bayern cannot afford to sit back and defend after taking the initial lead. It is quite evident that they do not have the attacking capabilities they had with Lewandowski, but the team should still be trying to score as many as possible.
This loss is not the first instance of this, a majority of Bayern’s defeats/draws this season saw them have the lead first. This side needs to start treating every goal like it is still 0-0, especially coming out in the second half. The defense and midfield, minus the likes of Joao Cancelo and Serge Gnabry, just felt so sluggish the entirety of the second half when they should be looking to kill the game.
Stop getting experimental in big games
If there is anything that Bayern should learn from this loss, it is that they need to stop getting experimental with their playing style in important games. It is evident that Tuchel is still trying to carve his own path with this side, but if something isn’t broken, why try to fix it?
Tuchel should learn now that Thomas Muller is most utilized in the attacking midfield role and that Joshua Kimmich is arguably one of the best defensive midfielders in today’s game– so keep them where they belong. With Tuchel forcing them to play further up in the attack, it proves that it is a detriment to the rest of the field.
The Bundesliga is more competitive now than ever
With this loss against Leipzig, the biggest lesson learned today is that the Bundesliga is more competitive now than it has ever been. Bayern Munich has been crowned German champions for the last 11 seasons, at it could all come to an end after next week.
More and more mid-table teams are pushing for European competition, thus, Bayern can not afford to take any team for granted. With that being said, Leipzig is one of the toughest opponents Bayern has faced all season, but it is not a team that should be beating Bayern with such ease. This flourishing competitiveness makes for an exciting competition but can spell trouble for Bayern in the coming season if they don’t iron out their weaknesses.
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Bayern desperately needs a win next week as they play FC Koln on May 27. Unfortunately, this is not enough to see them reclaim their title, as they will need a loss from Dortmund in one of their final two games.