Bayern Munich: Takeaways from narrow 1-0 win over St. Pauli

The silver lining - Consistency in defense

Whilst a cloud seems to have developed over Bayern’s attacking troops when teams sit in a low block, particularly over the last two games, the Bavarian defense has been impenetrable over the last five games. They have kept five clean sheets in a row since losing to FC Barcelona in the Champions League. Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano, and Alphonso Davies have been models of consistency and reliability in defense during this stretch of games.

Skeptics may point to the fact that none of the recent five teams that have failed to score against Bayern possessed forwards the caliber of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior or Bayern’s very own Harry Kane. However, you can only beat who you play against and confidence goes hand in hand with consistency and being able to rely on your teammates to cover for you when needed. In those last five games Kim, Upamecano, and Davies have covered excellently for each other. Vincent Kompany deserves some credit in that regard (All stats courtesy: fotmob).