Bayern Munich is flying.
Yes, a heavily rotated squad that barely got out of second gear throughout a high-stakes DFB-Pokal knockout fixture against second-division side FC Magdeburg dispatched their opponents with a 6-1 drubbing.
They really had to listen to YABADABADOO six times.
With coach Vincent Kompany recovering from a health condition, the responsibility of the squad fell into assistant coach Aaron Danks’ hands. Fast forward a few days, and the team hasn’t missed a beat. In fact, it looks even
better.
FC Magdeburg is no Arsenal, but given that Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Jamal Musiala, and Dayot Upamecano didn’t even feature in the game, with Alphonso Davies and Aleksandar Pavlović coming on later as substitutes, a 6-goal throttling comes as a pleasant surprise, especially since the DFB-Pokal has been unforgiving to Bayern Munich in years past.
So what has coach Danks changed in such a short time, and how has it made the team better?
Habitat restoration
Lennart Karl does not belong out wide. That is Michael Olise’s habitat.
Josip Stanišić does not belong at left-back. That is Nathaniel Brown’s habitat.
Serge Gnabry belongs on the bench (okay, I digress).
The point here is that sometimes players just need to be played in their optimal positions to thrive. Lennart Karl showed tonight what he can do as a free-floating CAM, as opposed to being marooned on an island out wide throughout the game. His diminutive stature means he gets outmuscled out wide by his man and taken out of the equation in games, diminishing his impact. Besides, Karl is not the most press- or defense-oriented player, and this weakness is often exposed during counterattacks.
So how do you take these weaknesses out of his game?
Change his position.
Playing at CAM, Karl had all the space in the middle to roam and all the half-spaces in the world to occupy. His ability to scan the pitch and dish one defense-splitting pass after another to set his teammates up is reminiscent of a certain Thomas Müller. Playing at CAM also means he is less exposed when he gives the ball away.
Brown finally got to play a full game in his ideal position, while Laimer got to play in midfield. Hiroki Ito put in a fantastic shift, anchoring the center of defense instead of plying his trade out wide. By restoring players to their habitats, coach Danks allowed them to flourish. And flourish they did.
Timely substitutions
Timing is key. And Danks knows this.
Which is why when he saw Serge Gnabry wasting a roster spot, he subbed him out at halftime for Alphonso Davies. And that made a huge difference.
The coach made some impeccable, well-timed substitutions, bringing in fresh legs at the right time to completely swing the tide in Bayern’s favor. A game that was on edge (2-1 at halftime) resembled a training match after the substitutions. Every sub had a tremendous impact, with the cherry on the cake being Santos Daiber’s long-range stunner to seal the game.
Good squad rotation is necessary to develop chemistry and keep all the players firing. Aaron Danks is executing this to perfection.
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken
From a pure tactical perspective, this team isn’t all that different. It retains Kompany’s structure, philosophy, and football tempo. Kompany obsesses over total football, and it is clear in the way the team plays. With the players constantly exchanging positions and playing fluid, dynamic, attacking football, chances are bound to arrive, and with that, goals.
This team continues to have that identity. If anything, coach Danks has made the lineup look even more like a 4-2-3-1 than it did before. With Karl sticking to the 10 position (and not constantly running out wide) and Bischof and Laimer anchoring the midfield, everyone is sticking to their roles. Of course, Harry Kane is allowed to do whatever he wants because he’s Harry Kane. And Davies is allowed to be a left-back and a left-winger at the same time because he can.
But otherwise, everyone continues to execute Kompany’s tactical vision. And that is key to continuing the momentum and the learning until the coach returns. Coach Kompany couldn’t have hoped to leave the team in a safer pair of hands.
(Dank)eschön, coach Danks!
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