Late Davies Goal Sees Bayern Advance | OneFootball

Bayern are in the crunch of their season as they returned home to take on Celtic in the second leg of their Champions League following their draw at Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.

Vincent Kompany once again made some changes to the starting eleven with Manuel Neuer in goal, Josip Stanišić, Dayot Upamecano, Kim MinJae and Raphaël Guerreiro in defense, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the double pivot and Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry behind Harry Kane in the attack.

Three Things We Noticed

Outworked

Celtic came into both of these matches as massive underdogs. There is zero question that the talent Bayern has at its disposal far outstrips that which the Scottish side is able to field.

However, where the Scots more than made up for that gap is in their effort. To be fair, I’m not sure how many teams I’ve ever seen put forth the effort that Celtic did over the 180 minutes of this tie.

They seemed to never stop running. They consistently made good decisions defensively both in tackles and in interceptions. They attacked at the right moments and constantly put Bayern under pressure off the ball. Kasper Schmeichel played excellent in goal when called upon.

In other words, Celtic played about as well as they possibly could have and they never gave Bayern a single moment to breathe. They went for every ball and every play and while it’s probably unrealistic to expect any team to commit to that level every match, Bayern would do well to take notes as it very nearly cost them this tie.

Questions

One thing that has become increasingly clear is the lack of answers that Bayern currently has. While many are quick to point the finger at Kompany, the problems go well beyond the coach. We’ve been seeing the same thing from these players for years now and neither the board nor the players have made any significant changes.

Bayern for years have struggled against any team with a low block, who can counter and has the stamina to pressure the Bavarians over 90 minutes. It’s a formula that many of the smaller teams, and even some of the bigger teams, have routinely deployed against Bayern.

Of course all it takes is one goal for Bayern to put a serious wrench into that strategy which is why they get away with it the majority of the time but when that goal doesn’t come early, the players often look as though they have no idea what to do, which is usually when the opposition strikes.

Changes

To that point, this offseason needs to be a time of change for the club. There are far too many players on this team that do not perform at the level that is needed given their talent and salary. This has been going on for far too long and they can no longer make excuses.

The wings, as literally everyone can see, need an overhaul. Sané and Gnabry especially are not producing at a level that is sufficient for what is expected of them. They are both tremendously talented players but neither has been able to consistently perform to their potential.

The midfield needs another ball handler/facilitator. Maybe Tom Bischof can be that player for Bayern, but if not they need to find someone to fulfill that role. Meanwhile Goretzka and likely one of Laimer or Guerreiro need to be on their way out as well. And that’s all assuming that they ultimately re-sign Kimmich who is out of contract in the summer. If they are unable to do so, or choose not to, then this suddenly becomes a massive hole that needs to be addressed.

Which brings me to the defense where again, Kim and Upamecano at times look like every bit the players that they’ve paid a combined €92 million for, but at others make errors that you wouldn’t expect from rec league players. Bayern need to find some stability and leadership at center back and likely need to move one or both of these two.

Then there’s the fullbacks where especially on the right, no one has solidified their position. Obviously Davies is relatively cemented on the left and with Ito, I think the depth is in place there, but the right is an entirely different matter.

As much as Laimer and Guerriero have helped provide depth in the fullback positions, it’s not their natural position and their skill set at times further hurts Bayern when they’re playing there. Meanwhile neither Stanišić nor Boey have proven that they are able to be the long term solution at that position either with their play or their availability.

Lastly in goal, it has to be said that Neuer is no longer the player he was. While I hesitate to lay the blame at his feet for most of the goals Bayern have given up this season, he has also rarely done anything to prevent them. All eyes should be on Jonas Urbig next season and whether or not he is the actual heir apparent at the position.

So again, this needs to be a summer of transition at Bayern. There are some good players whom they have to build around but if everyone is assessing this team honestly, there is a lot of turnover that needs to occur.

While I doubt to some degree that a lot of this happens, if it does not Bayern will almost certainly continue to underperform and be susceptible to the same problems they have been for nearly a decade.