On Saturday, Bayern Munich returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over a struggling St. Pauli side. With the midweek loss to Arsenal still fresh in the minds, Vincent Kompany wisely opted for some rotation to the starting XI.
In defense, Tom Bischof and Kim Min-jae came in for Josip Stanisic and Dayot Upamecano at left back and center-back, respectively. In the attack, Luis Diaz took over from Serge Gnabry on the left wing, and Raphael Guerreiro got the start as the number ten with Michael Olise amongst substitutes.
Despite the final scoreline, the game was anything but easy for Bayern. Let’s take a look at some takeaways from Bayern’s arduous victory over St.Pauli.
Bayern in somewhat of a funk
Following the loss to Arsenal on Wednesday, Bayern fans would have been expecting their team to take out their frustrations on the struggling visitors. However, quite the opposite unfolded when St. Pauli took the lead after just six minutes.
The goal from St. Pauli marked the fourth consecutive game in which Bayern conceded the opening goal. Considering how dominant Die Roten had been before the 2-2 draw with Union Berlin three weeks ago, it’s clear that the team has plateaued somewhat during November, especially off the back of the loss to Arsenal.
Be that as it may, with Hiroki Ito now back from injury, along with the imminent returns of both Alphonso Davies, before the end of the year, and Jamal Musiala in January, Die Roten should be operating at a near-optimal level after the winter break. However, between now and then, Vincent Kompany and his men need to tighten up defensively, particularly when it comes to set plays.