Bayern Draw As Union Equalize Late | OneFootball

After a big midweek win over Leverkusen in the Champions League, Bayern traveled to Berlin to take on Union in the Bundesliga.

Vincent Kompany made a few changes to the starting eleven with Jonas Urbig, Josip Stanisic, Dayot Upamecano, Eric Dier, Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Harry Kane up top.

The match started slowly as Bayern dominated possession and Union sat deep occasionally looking to counter. Bayern created a few half chances in the first half but largely were kept at bay.

Eventually Leroy Sané would score for Bayern in the 75th minute and it looked like the Munich side would walk away with all three points but Union found an equalizer in the 83rd minute through Benedict Hollerbach leaving Bayern frustrated in a 1-1 draw.

Three Things We Noticed

Frustrated Again

Yet again, Bayern were left frustrated up top by a low block. Union is notoriously stingy defensively and their strategy was never a mystery heading into this match.

Unfortunately, Bayern’s attacking options were once again unable to create anything significant throughout the match especially through the middle of the pitch.

They were mostly able to create some half chances down the wings with some reasonably dangerous crosses into the box, however there was never really anyone there to get on the end of those crosses.

This is a point I feel like we make constantly and yet it’s something that has been a problem for nearly a decade at this point. Bayern and Kompany need to find some creative solutions to this problem. Inter Milan is a team that could deploy such a tactic as well and they have far more dangerous players up top to counter with.

Let Up

On top of the attacking struggles, Bayern once again suffered a lapse in concentration defensively after going up 1-0 thanks to Sané’s goal.

Union took the initiative and gained more possession of the ball pushing Bayern back into their own half and created several chances that could have resulted in the equalizer before finally scoring.

Yet again, this is something that has become common place for Bayern in recent years. They have a habit of letting up after scoring and allowing the opposition to get back into games that they have otherwise dominated.

Defensively especially, Bayern need their leaders to step up and that in itself may be the problem. Bayern don’t really have a defensive leader so unless Kimmich or Neuer are pushing the team, they often have no one who can step into those shoes.

Break Before The Home Stretch

Very rarely do I feel like international breaks come at the right time but this is one that could be beneficial for Bayern. It gives them and extra week to get players healthy and ready for the next big stretch of their season.

Kim especially needs time to let his achillies injury heal. While Dier is a fine back up for our regular center back duo, we do not want to be heading into the Inter/Dortmund/Inter week without our first choice defensive pairing.

Additionally, it will be nice to get Neuer back on the field. Urbig has performed very well in his absence and he really does look like the future at that position, but as mentioned earlier, Neuer’s leadership will be important as we hit that stretch of matches.

Hopefully, Bayern make it through this international break with no further injuries and are able to return in peak form. They have a real chance to make a run in the Champions League and they will need to rebound from these last two results in the league to ensure the return of the Meisterschale to Munich.