Dominant but Wasteful: Is poor finishing concern for Bayern Munich? | OneFootball

Bayern Munich haven't been clinical at all this season. Yes, they have scored loads of goals across all competitions, but the truth is, they could and should have scored way more. If anything, their prolific goalscoring numbers only conceal a major problem that has been wasteful finishing. The RekordMeister have played some really good football under Vincent Kompany, but they've often not rewarded their performance by scoring the amount of goals it deserved.

Most big chances missed in the league

Bayern have scored only two more goals (48) than they have missed big chances (46) this season in the Bundesliga. In comparison, their title rivals Bayer Leverkusen, have missed only 25. Eintracht Frankfurt, currently third on the table, have wasted 31 big chances.

What helps Bayern is their highly dominating possession-based style of play which almost guarantees several goalscoring chances in a game. Therefore, despite the fluffed chances, Bayern manage to score and win most games. However, on a bad day, when chances don’t come thick and fast, a team should be able to make the most of what they get and that’s particularly where Bayern struggle. This is a skillset top teams absolutely need, especially in crucial big games which balance on a knife’s edge. The DFB Pokal tie against Leverkusen is probably the best example as Bayern had multiple chances to take the lead despite being a man down, but they failed to do so, and ultimately Leverkusen scored and went to to eliminate Die Roten from the cup. The Champions League game against Aston Villa was also of a similar nature, where Bayern were left to rue their missed chances as Villa took all three points with a late smash and grab.

Lack of goalscoring wingers

At the heart of Bayern’s finishing woes are their wingers who have been extremely poor at converting clear cut chances throughout the season. Michael Olise, stands out as an exception as the 22-year-old has been highly productive on the right flank. However it’s the more experienced wingers in Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, and Kingsley Coman who warrant criticism for their frustrating inconsistency in front of goal. Leroy Sane has been the worst of the bunch — the German has missed 7 big chances in the Bundesliga whilst having a a conversion rate of just 11.1%. He has been disappointing not only in the finishing department, but also in his all-round game.

Harry Kane, isn’t your typical fox in the box striker. He often drop back and tries to play passes to release the wingers down the flank. It doesn’t help Bayern’s cause at all if these wingers are poor with their final actions. Counter-attacking is another area where the lack of cut-throat ability of Bayern’s forwards comes in full display. Out of 48 goals in the Bundesliga, Bayern have managed to score just one from a counterattack.

With the crunch end of the season fast approaching, Vincent Kompany’s team need to be prepared to win games by whatever means necessary. Having a possession-based expansive system is well and good, and will always help the team in the long run, but in certain decisive games, the players need to be efficient in their attacking actions.