Leading the Bundesliga and maintaining an unbeaten run, Bayern Munich are looking a new breed under Vincent Kompany with plenty of positives. However, the Champions League is a different story as the “Gray Tigers” suffered a disappointing 0-1 defeat to Aston Villa, followed by a humiliating 1-4 loss to Barcelona. These results show that Bayern are still a team in the process of being perfected.
Kompany inherited a Bayern Munich side with a number of squad problems after the club parted ways with Thomas Tuchel. Despite good results domestically, weaknesses were gradually exposed, especially in terms of defensive ability, midfield stamina and consistency in pressing.
In fact, Bayern are still one of the strongest teams in Europe. Die Roten have an impressive attack, having scored 29 goals in just 8 Bundesliga matches. Defensively, the Bavarian club has also conceded very few goals. All statistics show that Kompany and his students still maintain the ability to create opportunities, in addition to limiting the number of goals conceded.
In addition, Kompany's changes in playing style have also brought some notable points. Jamal Musiala is used more in a low position as a conductor, creating opportunities and making creative passes. With 7 goals in tournaments, the German star promises to have the most scoring season of his career.
In midfield, Joshua Kimmich has been restored to his defensive midfield role, which has helped revive the form of Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman. One of the notable things about Bayern under Kompany has been to push Kimmich to the right of the defence, allowing him to play through balls to the left to Gnabry. This tactic has been remarkably effective.
Up front, Michael Olise has been effective since his signing. The Frenchman usually plays on the right wing, between the wings and the penalty area, but also operates as a number 10 or a traditional winger. Bayern’s new signing has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists in Bundesliga matches alone.
Under Kompany, the “Gray Tigers” are promoting flexibility in the position of each individual in the squad. Individual training sessions under the dedicated guidance of the Belgian strategist and his assistant team have been highly appreciated by the players. Detailed tactical analysis videos are also popular, especially with young players.
However, while the Bundesliga allowed Kompany to experiment and develop his style of play, the Champions League exposed Bayern Munich's weaknesses. The defeat to Aston Villa showed that the team played a rather slow attack and lacked the ability to break down a well-organised defence. The German team struggled to get the ball into the box, with 9/17 shots coming from outside the box. Against Leverkusen, Bayern also had 13/18 shots from distance.
The 4-1 defeat to Barcelona was a wake-up call for Kompany, exposing other problems. The central defenders Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano lacked cohesion and left many gaps for the opposition to exploit. In addition, the team's play lacked balance in pressing.
Bayern’s pressing shortcomings were exposed in other matches as well. Against Villa, Bayern conceded a goal after losing possession just outside the box, leading to Kim Min-jae’s fumbled defence. The 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt also saw two of the three goals conceded come from losing possession.
In addition, Vincent Kompany is also facing some problems such as Joao Palhinha is slow to adapt and has not been able to show his best form. Injuries to Sacha Boey, as well as Pavlovic and Musiala, have also weakened Bayern's strength.
Manuel Neuer, in particular, has been at his most inconsistent in recent years. During the treble-winning 2019-20 campaign, the German goalkeeper saved 74.5% of the shots he faced. In the current campaign, that figure has dropped to 57.1%.
