Sleepy, sleepy football
What exactly went wrong here? Where was the Bayern Munich we have seen all season? Paris Saint-Germain just came to the Allianz Arena and controlled the tempo from start to finish, never losing balance for even a second. That should not happen in a Champions League semi-final. Not to the best attack in Europe.
Michael Olise went missing. That is hard to stomach. Since day one, the Frenchman has been the creative heart and soul of the FC Bayern offense. In the first leg against PSG, he ran Nuno Mendes
ragged. So what happened here?
Blame fatigue, perhaps. Olise was not rested in either the Mainz or Heidenheim games, and his overall gameplay looked languid at best. He struggled to get the better of Nuno Mendes or Fabián Ruiz very often, and even when he did, the final pass was either poorly hit or immediately intercepted. It almost feels like Arjen Robben turned into the second coming of Leroy Sané just for this one game.
Konrad Laimer got burned by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Going forward, he struggled to support Olise. Joshua Kimmich was bullied straight out of the game, as Vitinha and João Neves locked down every single ball. Aleksandar Pavlović was a passenger. Luis Díaz ran his heart out, but could not find the right pass or a modicum of space inside the box.
Jamal Musiala was not ready for this game. The starboy was badly bullied by the PSG midfield, and could not dribble his way through their intense press. When he got a moment or two in space, like Olise, he muddled up the execution. It was honestly tough to watch.
Any one of those players performing poorly could have doomed the entire effort, the fact that all of them went missing at the same time just compounded the magnitude of the task. This is not to say that Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan Tah, or Josip Stanišić did not have their moments, they were just not as egregious as the aforementioned players.
It all resulted in a team that looked slow, lethargic, and downright sleepy. You would struggle to even beat Heidenheim playing like this, let alone PSG. Only Manuel Neuer and Harry Kane can hold their heads high — not because they did enough, but because they did the bare minimum expected at this level.
It was the kind of performance the home support did not deserve. Speaking of which…
A fortress made of sand
For the second time in a row this season, Bayern Munich have crumbled out of the gate in a massive Champions League home game. Vincent Kompany must take responsibility for this, because he is the one going to the media and asking for the fans to turn in force, only to serve them up severe helpings of disappointment.
At least against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich were able to recover and spare the home support another loss. But that was a Madrid team in crisis, missing key players due to injury, and without a serious head coach, and they still pushed FC Bayern to the hilt.
PSG are a much better team than Madrid, and they brought a better squad and more mature gameplan. In the end, the scoreline shows a one goal advantage to them, but it was never really that close.
Frankly, performance-wise, Bayern Munich played better in their away games these last two ties than at home. The same goes for last year against Inter Milan. Despite the fact that the home support is incredibly loud, despite the fact that they never give up until the final whistle is blown, the team can’t seem to make the 12th man count.
It almost feels like the lights get too bright, and the home games have somehow become a liability, not a strength. Bayern Munich seemed mentally out of it in both home games versus Madrid and PSG. The weight of the occasion seems heavier when the game is at home, the consequences too real. Which results in the performances we’ve seen at the Allianz Arena lately.
There’s no obvious solution to this. If you can’t turn your home ground into a fortress, you don’t deserve to compete in Europe.
Vincent Kompany’s ceiling
Is this the end of the road for Vincent Kompany?
Not in terms of his contract, he’s staying for many more seasons. But in terms of what Bayern Munich can achieve with him in charge. Is there anything beyond a semi-final? It may seem ridiculous to ask that, but consider the following.
Kompany will not change his style. The high line will stay, the defenders may change but the tactics will not, and the team is already scoring as many goals as it can up top. Where to go from here? Where will the extra performance points come from? How to get over the hump, and beat a team like PSG? Or Arsenal, the other finalist, the only other team to beat Bayern in Europe this season?
Does the team need rotation? More rest? Kompany already rotated plenty this season, and it’s unlikely that the board will buy him more depth. He will have to deal with injuries, and his style only encourages them. He has shown no willingness to change on that front. It’s who he is as a coach.
Pep Guardiola made three UCL semi-finals with Bayern Munich and never won a single one. Will that be the fate of Vincent Kompany? Being a top-4 team in Europe, is that the best he can do?
Miscellaneous observations
- Achraf Hakimi being injured played into PSG’s hands. Warren Zaire-Emery was a better defender and did more to keep Luis Díaz quiet. It also allowed Luis Enrique to start Fabian Ruiz, helping PSG win the midfield battle.
- The less said about the referee the better. Bayern Munich should come into these games assuming that the ref will be shamelessly biased. Forget the penalty, Nuno Mendes deserved an early red card.
- Alphonso Davies helped change the game when he came on. He must not have been fit, or else Kompany would have started him.
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…
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