PLAYER RATINGS | Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen dominated Bayern Munich but were unable to find a final product as they drew 0-0 to keep the gap between the two teams at eight points.

A first half that was played at a breakneck intensity. Leverkusen knew what they had to do heading into this game and they came out on a mission. Bayern were close to nonexistent in the first half, Florian Wirtz gave their midfield the run around while Dayot Upamecano made stop out after stop to keep Leverkusen out. The best chances of the half went to the hosts as they hit the crossbar twice, first from Jeremie Frimpong following a mazy run from Wirtz, while Nathan Tella also hit the bar.

The questions heading into the second half were:

Leverkusen were able to maintain the pressure and their playstyle in the second half and continued to render Bayern’s attack meaningless. However, they were once again not clinical in front of goal, their first good chance of the 2nd half saw a chance cleared off of the line by Bayern before there were two prime chances right at the death, one of which was saved by Manuel Neuer before the rebound was somehow missed by Wirtz.

So to answer the two questions previously asked:

The draw does the world of good for Bayern who as the game drew to a close were happy with a point as it would maintain the gap to eight points. But, Leverkusen did show a potential Achilles heel for the league leaders with the intensity that the game was played, which is something other teams can look at, especially with Bayern juggling European commitments as well.

The biggest question mark to come from this game was Xabi Alonso’s attacking choice. Nathan Tella worked for the first half, but as the 2nd half progressed it was obvious that Leverkusen was screaming out for a recognised striker and Alonso did not make a substitution of any sort until the 83rd minute, only when the game was close to over did he bring on Patrik Schick, who was given very little time to make any sort of impact. Unless Alonso has a valid reason for this decision, it has proven to be a crucial error that more than likely has cost Leverkusen in their pursuit of retaining their title.

No team, in the history of the Bundesliga has closed this large a point gap (8) in the 13 games remaining of the season, the closest was VfB Stuttgart in 2007 who closed a seven-point gap on Schalke to win the title (via Victor Catalina). In layman’s terms, Leverkusen will have to be close to perfect in the remainder of the season and hope Bayern drop points. However, with the way Bayern have been playing recently there are only a handful of teams who, are their day, look like could take points off of them (Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig).

Bayer Leverkusen:

Lukas Hradecky (5), Nordi Mukiele (6), Edmond Tapsoba (6), Jonathan Tah (6), Piero Hincapié (5), Jeremie Frimpong (6), Granit Xhaka (6), Exequiel Palacios (6), Alejandro Grimaldo (6), Nathan Tella (6), Florian Wirtz (7)

Others: Amine Adli (-), Patrik Schick (-)

Bayern Munich:

Manuel Neuer (6), Konrad Laimer (5), Min-Jae Kim (5), Dayot Upamecano (7), Hiroki Ito (5), Joshua Kimmich (5), Aleksandar Pavlovic (5), Michael Olise (5), Jamal Musiala (5), Kingsley Coman (5), Harry Kane (3)

Others: Josip Stanisic (5), Leon Goretzka (5), Leroy Sané (5), Serge Gnabry (5), Sacha Boey (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Dayot Upamecano (7)

In a game where Bayern were uncharacteristically forced to defend, the Frenchman stepped up. His pace managed to minimise Leverkusen’s attackers, while he was just everywhere to nullify attacks. The 26-year-old finished with a 58% ground duel success rate, five recoveries and four interceptions. Without him, it is fair to say that Bayern probably lose this game.

GGFN | Jack Meenan