Bayern Munich were just too fast for Wolfsburg to handle

SB Nation

Bayern Munich surprised everyone including themselves after smashing Wolfsburg 8-1 in the opening game of the new year. The team was well rested and did not take much time to be back up and firing on all

cylinders. The vertical transitions that the home side used kept catching the visitors off guard repeatedly and led to a goalfest.

While the scoreboard only partially reflects it, Wolfsburg did start pretty decently in the Allianz Arena. Bayern were still finding their rhythm and the Wolves managed to equalize and bring the game back to level after an own goal by Kilian Fischer. In fact, the visitors had more shots on goal than Bayern in the first half. However, things were to change overwhelmingly, something that is not new for the Wolves in Munich.

Bayern’s sublime vertical movement and deft finishing

In the second half Bayern just found new gears and blitzed the visitors. While the Wolfsburg defense was doing an strenuous job of holding back Bayern, vertical transitions proved to be a weakness. Most of the goals that Bayern scored in the second half were to quick back and forth shifts along the vertical direction that the Wolves could not adjust to quickly enough. By rinsing and repeating this strategy the Bavarians tore apart Daniel Bauer’s men. Paired with this was the skillful finishing of the Bavarians, converting a 3.30 xG into eight goals Kompany’s men cooked on the pitch.

After the game, Wolfsburg defender Kilian Fischer gave his take after a disappointing loss (FC Bayern). “I think the first half was decent from us. We had a few chances today to take the lead. We actually wanted to play the same way in the second half, keeping up the pressure, looking to win the ball back. And then we just made a poor start to the second half, conceded two quick goals. But you can’t then fall apart the way we did. An 8-1 loss is truly embarrassing.”

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…