Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat of the season against Arsenal on Wednesday. The Bavarian club competed well with Arsenal in the first half, but Mikel Arteta’s men dominated the second half and deservedly clinched a 3-1 win. The defeat on Wednesday ended an unbeaten run of 18 games for Bayern.
Die Roten have been largely performing well this season. The defeat against Arsenal is most likely a blip. However, this defeat further highlighted the recurring theme of the recent tendency to concede goals from set plays.
Vincent Kompany’s men had conceded two set-piece goals against Freiburg last weekend. The Bavarian club had also conceded goals through the same avenue against Union Berlin before the international break. Arsenal opened the scoring on Wednesday through a corner, which further highlighted Die Roten’s growing pain point- set-pieces.
Kompany was rightly asked about the set-piece problem during Friday’s pre-match press conference for the weekend’s Bundesliga game against St. Pauli. The Belgian coach told the media (via iMiaSanMia) that he is confident in finding the right solution to the recent problem of defending set pieces.
"We've been a solid team at set pieces over the past 18 months. We're going through a phase now – and I want us to find the right solutions and build ourselves up so that this might become our greatest strength. I don't want us to question everything; this is the phase we're in, and it's right to discuss it – but we'll resolve the situation and put a stop to it."Vincent Kompany
The Bavarian faithful will be relieved that this weakness is getting highlighted early in the campaign. Kompany and his coaches will look to implement different routines to make Die Roten defensively solid on set plays. They certainly have the physical prowess across the team to dominate set-pieces.
Fatigue has likely played a part in defensive lapses
Apart from the lack of organization of set-pieces, fatigue may have also played a role in Die Roten’s poor performance in the defense against Arsenal. Kompany’s style of play needs his back four to defend large spaces. Considering how Bayern have maintained intensity over the last 18 games, it is bound to take a toll on players.
Kompany will be pleased to have Hiroki Ito back from injury. The Japanese defender will give Kompany a much-needed option in defense. Alphonso Davies’ return will be a big boost for Bayern during the second half of the season. The Canadian full-back is a vital member of Kompany’s strongest starting XI. The Belgian coach will be desperate to have all defenders fit for the rest of the campaign.
Bayern fans will hope that the team learns from their mistakes and looks much more complete when they arrive at the knockout stages of the Champions League. For now, the immediate focus will be to get back to winning ways against St. Pauli on Saturday.