This Matchday 13 clash and its 3 points belong to Bayern Munich. They now sit 7 points clear of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and are definitely far out in front of the competition. It was definitely a very lackluster first half and one of the poorest performances Bayern has put in this season. Luckily they made up for it by going Gangbusters in the second half.
Some observations from today's match
- Javi Martinez was very ineffective as the more advanced of the central midfield pair and it should not be his position moving forward. The tendency to remain central does not allow Robben and Müller the freedom to interchange and overload zones and it forces Toni Kroos deep.
- Borussia Dortmund are good at counterattacks and fast direct play. Also, water is wet and grass is green
- Mario Götze is really fun guys.
- Thiago Alcantara's introduction immediately changed the dynamic of this game. This team thrives on fluidity and interchange and adding Thiago instantly made them so much more dangerous as borne out by the goal scored one minute later
- The first 45 minutes were quite possibly Thomas Müller's worst performance of the season. The second 45 were quite possibly his best under Guardiola.
- Borussia Dortmund's withdrawal of Mkhitaryan and Blazczykowski, by far their best players on the night, backfired badly as Bayern violently wrested the wheel away from Jurgen Klopp's side and planted themselves firmly in the driving seat for the last 15 minutes.
Enjoy the 3 points.