Defensive woes befall Bayern yet again
This has been a recurring theme for Bayern since their return from the international break. The 3-3 draw with Viking is a stark reminder that the Bavarians have struggled to defend their goal, whether they’re holding onto a lead or up by several goals. Bayern completely dominated the Lawnballers, who only got their first shot on target with just over 10 minutes left to play. That screamed clean sheet, but Bayern somehow finds ways to concede goals.
The 2-2 draw with Augsburg was more down to defensive errors, but it posits the same problem: Bayern’s defense is nowhere near as stable as last season. Against Paris Saint-Germain last year, Bayern managed to limit Luis Enrique’s side to just one goal in one half of football, after Luis Díaz got sent off. The puzzling thing is he managed it with the same set of defenders, more or less.
At the very least, Bayern has Vincent Kompany in charge because as a former defender, he can help tighten up the back. The Belgian helped Dayot Upamecano cement his reputation as a solid defender, so he’s more than fit for the task. With Arsenal looming large, the team must organize themselves properly and accordingly.
Luis Díaz is so back
He may have started the season slowly, but this game showed that Luis Díaz is well and truly back. He looked every bit the breakout star he was for Bayern last season. His dribbling, movement and his awareness have all visibly improved, compared to what he was before the international break. To top it off, he scored only his second Bundesliga hat-trick, last bagging a triple at home to Hoffenheim last season. Coincidentally, both times the third goal involved the 29-year-old running across and shooting low into the corner.
Perhaps the goal he scored against Viking opened the floodgates and he just let loose against Leipzig. Credit to the visitors, especially Maarten Vandevoordt, who stopped 11 goals from going in, for trying to stay in the game, but Díaz and Bayern were just far too strong for them.
Who plays where?
There was an interesting feature about the way that Bayern played is that everyone seemed to play in positions that aren’t their own. Aleksandar Pavlović was playing left winger (he even scored from that position); Harry Kane played deeper and acted as a playmaker while he interchanged positions with Ismael Saibari; Nathaniel Browm, who has a penchant for playing in attacking positions, was spotted at CAM at times. Dayot Upamecano played right-back for a while, and even Serge Gnabry settled into the left-back position.
If history is anything to go by, Leipzig played a man-to-man press, and Bayern constantly changing positions befuddled them. Bayern employed a similar approach against Barcelona a few years ago and won 3-0 away.
Vincent Kompany might be planning to play that game against Arsenal, but it’s also a double-edged sword. Giving Arsenal space is enough for them to launch attacks after sitting back. Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, among other clubs, did prove that Arsenal is beatable last season, but the loss of Michael Olise is a big blow.
Where is Bara?
Before the match, replies under Bayern’s starting XI revealed something that went completely under the radar: Bara Sapoko Ndiaye is not there. The only times the Senegalese youngster wasn’t on the bench was the 4-1 win over Osnabrück and today’s match, and even when he was on the bench, he wasn’t getting much playing time.
A possible (plausible?) explanation could stem from Bayern’s wobbly form as of late. At this point in the season, the team isn’t as infallible as they were last year and Bara isn’t exactly the “get out of jail” card that Bayern can pull. Bara is a sprightly player, and he has the goods to become a world beater. He’s just not someone Bayern can rely on to bail the team or make a difference at the moment.
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