Food for thought…
Badstuber has been starting regularly lately. He’s not bad, many will prefer him over Dante. But like the first goal we conceded, Badstuber wasn’t able to mark Herrmann. Then the pass for the second goal against went right past him. Hannover’s goal can also be attributed to Badstuber leaving a man free.
Benatia meanwhile, is fast. Covers the RB/CB space brilliantly as seen in numerous games like in the Roma trashing. In his 12 games for Bayern in Bundesliga, we have conceded 2 goals with him on the pitch. In CL, we only conceded 1 when he was in the pitch (he was sent off before the City scored 3). We haven’t lost a game with him on the pitch.
His pace and BoaTank’s has been instrumental in curbing any counterattack. With both on the field, Bernat and Rafinha are allowed so much freedom going forward without the burden of too much defensive duties.
With both healthy and on the biggest matches, it’s imperative that both Boateng and Benatia make up the defense. For a suicidal high line, we need our Fast and Furious. (Yeah Boateng is the Furious in this duo)
Or...
Lahm.
Put extra protection in the defensive midfield. We need our captain back. Many would want him in his rightful place but let’s just face the truth that both Alaba and Lahm won’t be coming back to the defensive flank anytime soon. Or ever.
Lahm will provide extra protection for Alonso or Schweinsteiger (dear god, please no more both). Last year’s Kroos-Thiago-Lahm trident was a sight to behold. And with the latter two almost back to their 100% fitness, it’s going to be a conundrum for Guardiola.
Grab your towel.
It’s big sore point for Bayern fans that we’re continually exploited by counter attacking teams. In fact, there’s no other way to beat Bayern but to employ The Counter Bus. Organized in the back with two banks of four and hit one deadly counter and you’re set for 90 minutes. That’s the plan. It’s not a secret. In fact, teams use it almost every week.
With the way Bayern fans are reacting one would think every team that uses The Counter Bus defeats Bayern. They don’t. Buses are not made equal. Some are easier to crash, others are frustrating as hell.
But of course that’s not the issue here. The issue is, the Champion’s league.
Fans don’t want to lose another CL game like against Real Madrid. Some fans may even expect the team to win or even reach the final this year. Winning the domestic double and continually doing well in Germany is not enough anymore. Who cares about Bayernliga... It’s CL or nothing.
The Big Ears makes or break Pep this year for many. And for me, that’s unfair. It’s not an easy thing to win as Bayern itself has experienced. It’s not just skill but a hell lot of luck. Bayern’s treble didn’t face a bus. When The Great Heynckes’ Bayern met a bus, they tasted bitter tears at home.
Bayern losing to Wolfsburg and Gladbach means Bayern will lose to a team like Real Madrid or Atletico in the future according to some fans. Maybe we will. Maybe we won’t. Who can say just because of two games out of 32?
We can’t deny this is a weakness that great teams will be able to exploit. And we can’t deny Bayern need very specific players healthy and available to successfully overcome this. But it’s barely a cause to panic or call this season lost. Or call for the manager’s head. Or specific players.
We’re Bayern and we’re not Real Madrid. We don’t boo our players because a win is not enough or the Meisterschale or Pokal is not enough. We have a weakness. Every team has. Every player has. Even Super Neuer is humanized today. Because every single one of them is human.
The treble is a magical year for all of us. But let’s not for one second think it’s going to happen every year. Or every other year. Or every four years.
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