Bayern 3 – 2 Wolfsburg, a bit of the old, a bit of the new? 

This article written by Pepe Salazar

The old (and why not start Palhinha?)

Just like with previous managers, the team continues to struggle in the build up and defensive phase. The build up shape, oscillating between a 3-2 and a 2-4, was OK … as long as Wolfsburg didn’t press. When this happened, Pavlovic and Kimmich didn’t make much of a difference, as Wolfsburg created chances by pressing and causing mistakes in the backline.

Kim’s mistake came directly from Wolfsburg’s man to man pressing, but also maybe from the fact it’s the first time we see him in this situational RB role, which is normally covered by Upamecano (while Kim stays on the left). Other teams know Bayern is fragile in this phase and this man to man pressing will continue; Kompany is probably already working on solutions for the next match.

Not having a midfield destroyer meant that the CBs were forced to do most of the defending when the fullbacks failed to track back in time. Last season there was no one to cover that position, but now there’s Palhinha, a very expensive signing…who remained on the bench.

In Spanish the CDM is often called “contención“, which is roughly translates to “containment / container”, meaning the defensive midfield is not only there to destroy, but also to make the transitions slower even if it means tactical fouling.

Neither Kimmich nor Pavlovich have mastered the “dark arts” as they’re not naturally defensive players, so why not start Palhinha as half of the double pivot, or why not try to play a 3 man midfield, with Kimmich and Pavlovic in front of Palhinha?

Bayern has no problem scoring, defending consistently as a unit is what’s missing. Any CB that is exposed with no support will suffer, be it, Kim, Upa, Dier or Ito, that’s beyond personnel. Just like a striker needs service, CBs also need support.

In Boey’s penalty Wolsfburg bypassed Bayern’s double pivot as if it was nothing. A CDM could at least make it difficult for the opponent to create these passes behind the lines, and, Boey or Kim or Upa may have been able to have more time to react and defend without causing a penalty. Either way it was a cheap one by Boey who until then had been playing a great game both on attack and defense, but risked not only a penalty but a red card.

Just like previous managers, Kompany build up by opening the CBs almost to a fullback position, with Neuer acting as a central CB. The fullbacks were placed wide and high, and Kimmich and Pavlovic stayed central to receive the ball there, and then pass it to the flanks. Pavlovic can receive and turn, but Kimmich can’t. The build up was so dysfunctional that it got to the point where Musiala had to drop really deep to compensate, which is a good short term solution, but not ideal.

The new (and why there’s more to football than tactics)

Mostly in the first half, Bayern played very intense overloads, especially on the right flank. The idea of drawing the opponent to one side, to then play switch passes to free wingers or fullbacks on the opposite side is an important part of Kompany’s tactics, and it’s something we see every elite manager do. This was also done by Tuchel but in a different way, more based on counter-attacking. Olise and Boey seemed to click as a right flank partnership, collaborating with Kane to create the chance for Musiala to score the first goal of the season.

Olise and Boey may be great together, because Boey is fast enough to overlap, doesn’t fear taking on opponents, and Olise tends to tuck in the way Robben did. Olise is also very good at pressing and defending, and will have moments where he’ll recover the ball close to the opponent’s box.

On the left flank Davies had an average game, I think Guerreiro had a solid partnership with Musiala when both played on the left flank, and he could do that with Gnabry. I still don’t think Davies is a rounded fullback, especially on defense, and while Guerreiro is slower and not as strong, he is much more certain on the ball and has more positional awareness, which helps his teammates in attack and defense.

In today’s match Kompany’s tactics played both in favor and against Bayern; creating lots of chances, pushing down the opponent, scoring three goals, and having lots of movement up front. If Tuchel’s tactics were static, Kompany’s tactics are dynamic, sometimes bordering on chaos and disorder…which has the classic downside; looking defensively weak in transitions, build up and defense. This is something that should improve with more training sessions and intense practice of automations.

Today’s match also showed that not everything is tactics. After Bayern went down 1-2, the reaction was immediate, and this relates to attitude. Last season, when these situations happened, it seemed the team gave up, even the body language was lacking. Today the reaction was immediate by Kompany, and his substitutions were on spot. The team showed an attitude that reflects what the fans expect.

We don’t care if the team goes down, what we care about is that they show a fight spirit and intensity, which they did since the first minute, despite the mistakes or shortcomings in other areas. Football is unpredictable, odd things happen, but what should be consistent is that fierce attitude that is a trademark of Bayern’s football identity.

What to expect this season

Of course, it’s too soon but I think we can expect a goal machine that dominates games, but then may concede goals from low xG chances or in other words, don’t expect many clean sheets. Expect a team that destroys opponents for 80-90% of the match but that 10% where they lose their focus, that’s when even weak teams will get their chance to score. Expect Kompany to work this out on training, especially on the defensive side of things. His experience as an elite CB should come in handy to deal with this problem.

Expect a team that will show a better attitude than last season, and expect Olise to make a difference even if his contributions seem to be minimalistic. Sadly, expect Kane to play more for the team, than what the team plays for Kane, which is what we saw today.

Beyond expectation, let’s hope the problems in the build up and defensive phase are addressed correctly, instead of scapegoating defenders, Bayern should learn to defend as a team, especially the CDMs and fullbacks.

Overall

Today’s match was quite exciting, entertaining, with glimpses of brilliance, tactical prowess, great attitude, and of course, some moments of concern. Wolfsburg’s quick reaction in the second half, and then their second goal felt like “it’s happening again”, but we should take today’s mistakes with serenity, as we’re dealing with a system manager only playing his first game at the Bundesliga, and with newcomers that still have to adapt to their teammates.

For me the best thing I saw today was Boey and Olise teaming up with Kane; last season most of Bayern’s attacks came from the left flank, hopefully with Olise and Boey we’ll see more goal creating actions come from the right, which will give Bayern more balance, and an edge over any club, as they will struggle to keep up with menaces on both flanks.

Amongst other good news, it was great to see Gnabry back at his best, let’s hope he can stay fit. I think Müller works great as a sub because he can play 30 minutes at full intensity and it’s almost like having a second manager on the pitch. Coman also came in and did a good job, reminding us that we don’t have a thing such as leftover wingers.