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Bayer Leverkusen has been dominating their opponents for over a year – but at FC Bayern Munich the champions played without any offensive courage. Because the record champion embodies one again.
20 goals in three games made an impression – so much so that even the German champions decided to withdraw completely. The top game between FC Bayern Munich and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1:1) was far from the spectacle that so many had expected.
And that was primarily because the reigning champions apparently didn’t have the courage to face the record champions with an open mind.
Leverkusen reacts to Bayern’s strength and defensive weakness
Leverkusen let the Munich team do their thing, the game took place almost exclusively in the Bayer half. Coach Xabi Alonso’s team relied entirely on counterattacks and quick combinations, but it felt like any hint of an attack was over after a maximum of two passes. This was certainly due to the strong pressing that Bayern displayed under Vincent Kompany, but also because Bayer only tried with the handbrake on.
There are a few reasons for this. Leverkusen had previously conceded nine goals in four games in the Bundesliga and had always at least faltered despite seemingly comfortable leads. Granit Xhaka, among others, gave his team warning words before the big game, so the focus on defending in Munich came as no surprise.
However, it is true that this leads to a style of play that completely robs exceptional talents like Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface of their strengths.
Xabi Alonso: “We needed this way”
The explanation for this: Even the champions have the greatest possible respect for Bayern. Anyone who has bad feelings for the defending champions could also dismiss the performance as “scaredy football” – but because the tactic was rewarded with a point win, it is a little difficult to maintain this formulation. But: In the previous duel between the two teams, Leverkusen had outplayed Munich and Bayern had no chance at 3-0. At that time they were also considered vulnerable, but now things are moving towards being “overpowering” again.
The Leverkusen team were correspondingly satisfied with what happened in Munich on Saturday evening. “We hardly gave Bayern any chances in 95 minutes and played very seriously. We are very happy with the point. We needed this way because Bayern are in a very good mood and we were under pressure from the start,” said Alonso “Sky”. “We don’t normally play like that, but it was okay for today. It was a very tough game for us, there was high pressure the whole game after they lost the ball, we hardly had the chance to breathe. I’m proud of my team .”
Bayern are once again the ultimate in the Bundesliga?!
Jonathan Tah largely agreed with his coach – but he was a little disappointed that so little had happened with the ball in the game. “We won’t be happy if we don’t win, this style of play is not our style of play,” said the Leverkusen defender. “We defended well and didn’t allow much. They had the ball a lot and were much more dominant, but that didn’t result in much.” Granit Xhaka admitted that “the aim was to allow little”. It would probably have looked different against any other opponent.
So what remains of this top game? The certainty that in the early stages of the new season Bayer no longer has the outstanding position of last season, when the “Werkself” became German champions for the first time with a 17-point lead.
Instead, Bayern is once again the ultimate in the Bundesliga. If anyone had any doubts about this before the game against Leverkusen, the defending champions themselves showed that this was the case with their tactics. It was an appearance with a signal effect.
