Bundesliga, 13th round (rescheduled match)
Munich, Allianz Arena
Bayern – Union 1:0
Goal: Guerreiro 46
The defeat to Werder at the weekend once again proved Bayern’s inadequacy in positional attack. The chronic problem was masked for a long time by the class of performers, cool counter-attacks, set-pieces and Harry Kane’s hunger.
But treating the symptoms instead of the disease led to complications – the wrong choice of position led not only to stagnation in the attack, but also to the loss of the ball and vulnerability to counterattacks. This is what Bayern is all about after the restart of the season.
Hoffenheim were the first to hint at these pain points in the first match after the winter break. But a couple of spectacular saves by Neuer and goals by Musiala allowed us to close our eyes to the problems. But a week later, Werder repeated Hoffenheim’s idea and not only held off the record holder, but even won thanks to the brilliant Mitchell Weiser (0:1).
Ironically, next on the list was Union – the only real bus within the first Bundesliga, which again gained more or less decent momentum after the change of coach. This was a real challenge for Thomas Tuchel and his staff. And they passed it with a 3 plus. Fixed some bugs, but nothing more. As an excuse, we can say that there was a minimum of time.
Bayern moved the ball noticeably faster than three days ago. Everyone played with two or three touches. “Union” quickly put them in a defensive stance (they weren’t against it), but things didn’t go any further for the hosts. Munich pressed the game, combined in the opponent’s penalty area, but did not find a way to the goal. There were long-range shots, entries into the penalty area, a couple of dangerous shots after corners. As a result, Sane’s shot from distance near the bar at the end of the half became the most dangerous of the half.
After three dry periods in a row, Bayern quickly solved their problem. It took Guerreiro 35 seconds to finally open the scoring. The hosts did a good job of overloading the right flank, drawing out the opponent’s center midfielders so that they could then strike on the opposite side. Kane should have scored, but his shot was caught by the post. Fortunately for the hosts, Guerreiro got the finishing touch. Inspired, Bayern went to finish off, Sane immediately came to life and immediately assisted on Kane. Leroy, however, was marginally offside. And along with the “second goal,” confidence disappeared somewhere.
Finally, in the 72nd minute, Union, according to the tradition of the last rounds, seriously disturbed Neuer, but Bayern was blown away: the referee did not see a foul on the part of Dier, who knocked down Behrens in the goalkeeper’s area, and Roussillon’s shot would pull Manu. Union, which lost Volland during the meeting, did not have enough attacking potential for more. The Berliners will spend all their energy on the crush, the peak of which will be the removal of Union coach Bjelica for slapping Sane in the face.
1:0. Today, for the first time in 17 years, there was no sold-out at Bayern’s home game. And this is to blame only for the fastidiousness of the Munich public, but also for the mediocre football played by the hosts. One of the main dominators of European football no longer causes fear among opponents. Thomas Tuchel remains one of the best coaches in the world, but his pragmatic style is causing boredom at the Allianz Arena and despondency among the players. And if he does not start working on his main shortcoming, he may not be forgiven for this. Felix Magath lasted only one game after a failed soldier-out back in 2007.
Bavaria: Neuer – Laimer (Pavlovic 86), Upamecano (Dyer 46), de Ligt, Guerreiro – Goretzka, Kimmich – Sane, Musiala (Muller 76), Coman (Tel 76) – Kane
Union: Rennow – Trimmel, Vogt, Knoche, Diogo Leite, Gozens (Roussillon 64) – Haberer (Bedia 78), Kral (Aaronson 78), Tusar – Volland (Behrens 26), Hollerbach (Schafer 64)
Warnings: Sane 74, Kane 90+5 – Behrens 47, Vogt 90+5
Removal: Bjelica 74
