3 Things We Noticed: Eintracht Frankfurt – FC Bayern München 0-1 (0-1)

Three Things We Noticed

1. Vidal will always be Vidal

It was once again a typical game for the player, who is often criticized in our blog: Arturo Vidal. Already in the fifth minute the Chilean receives a yellow card after a pass from Starke reaches him in distress, his first touch is suboptimal and he can only stop Rebic with a foul before entering the box. A red card would have been possible here as well.

But already in the 21st minute Vidal shows why he is still important for this Bayern team. In a rather weak match by the record champion Kimmich crosses after an supposedly cleared corner and at the long post Vidal is completely free to take the header, putting the ball in the back of the net seconds later. Only a few people are able to master this running-in into the penalty area up to the 6 yard area at this level.

In the last four Bundesliga games, Vidal has now scored each time. A quota even a Lewandowski would be jealous of.

Especially in the first half Vidal did a lot of defensive things right: again and again he just had his foot at the right spot in the right moment. At half time, the Chilean had three clearances, an interception and completed 95% of his passes.

The fact that this afternoon for Vidal ends early is due once again to a “classic” Vidal action. On the left-hand corner of the penalty area he sticks out his foot against Wolf, a very daring action if you are already charged with a yellow. Unlike Ancelotti in the Champions League quarter-finals last season, Heynckes reacts immediately and takes his Arturo off the pitch.

For the rest of the season and especially before the important games, Heynckes has to decide whether Vidal fits into his game concept. The advantages and disadvantages of the midfielder were again visible today and are well known. Moreover, adaptations to his playing style are hardly to be expected.

2. Inaction was not punished

The games against Frankfurt are always annoying for Bayern fans. However, this is usually due to the fact that Bayern are running against a Frankfurt defence for over ninety minutes. The 0-0 draw in the 2007/08 season was unforgettable when Oka Nikolov saved 38 Bayern shots.

Today, however, the roles were distributed differently. Heynckes’ match plan was to hand the ball over most of the match to the Frankfurt team. For example, the Munich team only needed 15 strong minutes in the middle of the first half to clinch the victory in against Eintracht.

Nevertheless, the shot total was 5 each at the break. Such a figure is rare in Bundesliga matches with FC Bayern. Especially after turnovers in the build-up, the Frankfurt team took advantage of the slight disorder in the Munich defense with their attacking line and created to some chances.

Anyone expecting a significantly different face from Bayern in the second half was disappointed. On the contrary, the ball was left completely up to Frankfurt and all eleven Munich players stood behind the ball in their own half of the game.

The Hessians were probably also surprised and could not gain any chances from the field advantage. The defence of the Munich team was also too well staggered. The few breakthroughs by Frankfurt could usually be stopped by Boateng or Süle at the last second.

In the end, there will be an away win with only 48% possession of the ball and a ratio of 6-12 shots, where you could save your energy for the last weeks before the winter break. Nevertheless, the feeling remains to have seen one of the more uninspired performances of the past years.

3. Strong comeback

Actually, Tom Starke shouldn’t be active anymore. But when Manuel Neuer seriously injured himself in September, the replacement goalkeeper of the triple-season stepped in to help his club out of its predicament. The 36-year-old was supposed to be number two behind Ulreich.

But even the recently strong Ulreich is not free of injuries. When warming up before the match, the ex-Stuttgart player had problems with the adductors, which caused Tom Starke to play his 100th Bundesliga match.

The lack of competitive matches was strong only in the first five minutes when he put Vidal in trouble. Afterwards, the experienced goalie played calmly and confidently. On several occasions in the first half, he defused Frankfurt’s dangerous shots. It was also thanks to him that Heynckes’ passive plan worked out today.

Eintracht Frankfurt – FC Bayern 0-1 (0-1)
Eintracht Frankfurt	Hradecky – Salcedo, Abraham, Falette – Wolf, Willems (78. Tawatha), Fernandes (71. Jovic), Boateng – Barkok (81. Stendera), Rebic – Haller
Bench	Zimmermann, Russ, Gacinovic, Hrgota
FC Bayern	Starke – Kimmich, Süle, Boateng, Rafinha – Martinez, James, Vidal (55. Tolisso) – Ribery (67. Alaba), Coman (83. Lewandowski) – Müller
Bench	Hoffmann, Hummels, Rudy, Wriedt
Goals	0-1 Vidal (20.)
Cards	Yellow: Fernandes, Wolf / Vidal, Rafinha, Müller
Referee	Harm Osmers (Hannover)
Attendance	51,500 (sold out)