Bayern Forced to Settle for Draw | OneFootball

Bayern are limping into the last phase of the season both literally and figuratively with injuries mounting and results getting hard to come by. On Saturday, Bayern hosted Dortmund in what has become the most marketed match of the Bundesliga.

That said, this match hardly lived up to the reputation it has garnered, at least in terms of the quality of the football.

Vincent Kompany played a very similar eleven to that which he fielded in the loss to Inter Milan with the exception of Müller coming in for Guerreiro on the ten.

Three Things We Noticed

Who Will Step Up

Missing Musiala in the attack was always going to be hard for Bayern to deal with. They have been heavily reliant on his creativity and creation throughout the season and they have yet to find a solution with him out.

Müller and Guerreiro have been the two players given a chance so far and both have looked good at times. However, Müller has looked the more consistent of the two and his movement and intelligence brings a different dynamic to Bayern up top.

However, Bayern are going to need more from the other attackers to fill the gap. Olise has continued to create danger on the right wing but Sané and Kane have not done much in the time that Musiala has been out.

Gnabry came in today and performed to his capabilities providing a hockey assist on the first goal and the second goal of the match. He is someone who, if in form, could fill in those shoes for Bayern but given his unpredictability, it’s hard to rely on him.

That’s going to leave Kompany likely searching for answers most of the rest of the year unless someone steps up and delivers.

Defensive Fragility

Then there’s the defense which is also dealing with a plethora of injuries. Kim is clearly not 100% and while I applaud his efforts, he is also playing below the level expected of him.

The first goal where he allowed the player to easily moved behind him for an open header, simply cannot happen. Even if the player wins the header and scores, you have to at least contest the ball.

Dier as solid of a back up as he has been for the club, is not someone you really want playing 90 minutes on a regular basis. While he is a good player, his physical limitations become increasingly glaring as time passes.

The full backs are also interesting as the more offensive Laimer now moves further up the pitch compared to Stanišić who is much more defensive minded and truthfully out of position on the left.

It is going to be a rough end to the year for the defense as they try to cobble together a starting unit to make up for the lack of depth and ridiculous rash of injuries to them.

Bayern must address this in the offseason. It was obvious to anyone with a brain that Bayern were thin defensively even before this injury crisis and things are now at the tipping point.

Middling

This was a match that Bayern should have won and needed to win. Dortmund was very mediocre. This is not a strong BVB and it really hurts to lose points against a midtable quality team when Leverkusen dropped points today as well.

However, when you look at this starting eleven on paper, it’s hard to honestly say that this Bayern team is one you can expect to go out and dominate either. Right now, Bayern are still an above average Bundesliga team but are they better than Leverkusen? That is a real question.

They have an uphill battle in Milan on Wednesday and five remaining Bundesliga matches in which they will likely need to find a way to win the majority with just a six point lead.

In all honesty, Bayern are going to have to figure out a way to improve upon their recent results if they are going to finish this season with silverware.

Kane, Sané, Gnabry, Müller, Olise and the rest of the attack are going to have to find goals. The defense is going to have to be better than they have been. The midfield is going to have to help out more in both phases. In other words, Kompany has his work cut out for him and if Bayern win the league, it will either be because Leverkusen blew it or because this team really earned it.