Joshua Kimmich laments Bayern Munich’s first half against RB Leipzig ahead of Copenhagen clash

Bayern Munich’s first half vs. second half in the 2-2 draw against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga were night and day from one another as they battled back from 2-0 to finish level at 2 all. A penalty from Harry Kane and a goal from Sané gave Bayern the point away from home, sparing what could have easily been a loss if Thomas Tuchel did not make tactical adjustments at the halftime interval.

All things considered, too, Leipzig could have easily scored more than two goals in the first half, and Bayern would have found themselves trying to claw back three goals just to not leave the RedBull Arena empty handed.

Ahead of Bayern’s Champions League clash against FC Copenhagen, Joshua Kimmich spoke to the press and said that his side need to be far better than they were in the first half in Leipzig. “We weren’t in the game against Leipzig in the first half, we invited the opponent with too many simple mistakes. That can’t happen tomorrow. We have to go about our business with concentration over 90 minutes, then I believe we’ll win the game,” Kimmich explained (via @iMiaSanMia).

Photo by RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images

Conversely, it was the second half of the first Champions League match against Manchester United where Bayern looked worse for the ware in the second half compared to the first. They conceded three goals to United in the second half after going in to the halftime break two goals to the good. Had it not been for a lovely-taken stoppage time goal from substitute Mathys Tel, Bayern would have drawn the match 3-3 and blown a lead after dominating the majority of proceedings.

Either way, Kimmich’s sentiment rings true for the full ninety minutes of any given match, and not just either, respective, half. Bayern need to be able to hold and maintain leads and also avoid going down early on. Poor starts or poor finishes can be the difference between progression or no progression to the knockout stages of the Champions League.