Five observations from Bayern Munich’s 4:1 win against Greuter Fürth

Bayern Munich’s attack is struggling

Bayern’s best asset, without a doubt, is its attack. But yet again, we saw a pretty uninspiring and unusually uncreative attacking performance. For the entirety of the first half, Bayern struggled to create chances against the worst defense in the Bundesliga. In the second half, things quickly turned around, and the Bavarians got their equalizer in the 46th minute. After that, the home team managed to score three more goals, but the overall impression is that Bayern’s attack needs some work.

Shaky defense

Bayern’s defense was not impressive tonight. They were unlucky to concede on the free-kick, especially when the ball hit Marcel Sabitzer and took a big deflection. Sven Ulreich could not have done anything about that shot. The backline also lost possession on a couple of occasions, but luckily, Greuther Fürth wasn’t able to score. In the second half, Fürth hit the post two times and again pointed out that Bayern’s Achilles heel is the defense. In the end, Lewandowski scored for 3:1, and then the visiting team fell apart.

Süle’s departure hit the team

It seems that after Niklas Süle’s transfer to Bayern’s rivals Borussia Dortmund was announced, the team took a step back and still hasn’t mentally recovered. Last season, when the team was in a similar slump, you could hypothesize why the team underperformed with all the condensed fixtures and overall fatigue. But now, it’s not clear why the team’s struggling in the past weeks. If someone watched Bayern’s documentary, it’s clear that the younger core players like Süle, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka, and Joshua Kimmich have known each other for a long time. And with Süle’s strained relationship with Bayern’s front office, the team chemistry probably took a hit after Süle decided to continue his career in Dortmund. And it’s going to be hard to replace Süle, as he is one of the most consistent defensive players this season.

Bayern’s winning mentality ensures the win

Bayern found themselves losing in the first half again, and the score remained that way until the start of the second half. In a match where Bayern struggled to create serious chances, especially in the first half, the team’s winning mentality saved the day. Julian Nagelsmann also probably had an amazing half-time talk and inspired the players to make this glorious comeback. The record champions never gave up, and they got their well-deserved win in the end.

Nagelsmann made great substitutions

Nagelsmann made some changes at half-time and subbed out Omar Richards. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting started in the second half and immediately made an impact. In the end, the Cameroonian attacker also scored the fourth goal. Gnabry had a great match after he came on in the first half instead of injured Tolisso. And finally, Süle, who was probably the best defender tonight. He showed that he is calm when on the ball, he also had some great passes and managed to get an assist to his name. Nagelsmann also made some tactical tweaks, and Bayern played significantly better in the second half.