Alphonso Davies calls for more defensive stability at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich has recorded a total of seven clean sheets across all competitions so far this season, and three of them have come in the Bundesliga. The recent 5-2 win over Union Berlin was a score line that perhaps slightly flattered Bayern given the amount of problems Union was able to cause Bayern’s back line, forcing Manuel Neuer into action on a handful of occasions. In the Bundesliga, they’ve now conceded a total of ten goals and SC Freiburg are the only team in the league that have conceded less (seven).

Bayern may have been lucky only two have conceded twice at Union Berlin, which is something Alphonso Davies was well aware of in the press conference previewing the Champions League clash against SL Benfica this week. They beat the Portuguese side 4-0 in the opposite fixture last month, but Davies knows that Bayern need to get tighter in defense. “We also scored a lot. It’s now about us finding the right chemistry, the right balance. We want to be strong at the back and fight, that’s what we take for every game. We’re strong, we have loud leaders like Lucas Hernandez in the back. We speak English at the back, German from time to time. I think we will get stronger as the season goes on,” he explained (Tz).

Of course, Julian Nagelsmann and Dino Toppmoller have used slightly varying backlines between the likes of Davies, Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, Niklas Sule, Benjamin Pavard. and Josip Stanisic. On Saturday in Berlin, we saw Davies line up alongside Hernandez and Sule, with Stanisic on the opposite flank, which we haven’t seen since Bayern’s 7-0 win in the league over VfL Bochum in the middle of September. Despite the shifting personnel in the back line, Davies reassured that there is good cohesion between all of them and good communication. While English is the main language they speak, Davies did admit that his German was improving. “My German is of course already better than when I started. I understand more than I can speak. I try my best, have lessons every day. The food is fantastic. Whenever I get the chance, I try something new. I don’t know Bavarian yet - Thomas (Muller) is better at that,” he explained.

Bayern will also welcome back Nagelsmann to the touchline for the Benfica match after his quarantine period from having tested positive for coronavirus last month. He’s missed Bayern’s last four matches and has been managing, as much as he can, from his kitchen setup. “We are happy that he will finally be back tomorrow. We’ve missed him,” Davies said on being able to welcome him back.

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