FC Bayern Munich: Vincent Kompany must end defensive harakiri

By Christian Stüwe

The goal to make it 4-1 for FC Barcelona is emblematic of FC Bayern Munich’s current problems.

Lamine Yamal played a long ball behind the Munich defense line from just behind the halfway line. Raphinha, who started deep, took the ball well, shook off the two central defenders Dayot Upamecano and Min-jae Kim and pushed in.

You don’t have to be a particularly sophisticated tactical analyst to see how Bayern’s defense can currently be cracked. A long ball, a fast striker, that is the record champions’ kryptonite.

In the 3-3 draw in Frankfurt, Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike punished coach Vincent Kompany’s risky defensive approach three times. In the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, Bayern were also outplayed despite their dominant style of play. On Wednesday evening at the Camp Nou, the lightning-quick Raphinha scored a hat-trick.

“Barca plays risky, we play risky. It’s clear that these things can happen when the ball is lost or when the ball goes behind the chain. We’ve already seen that in Frankfurt that it can hurt us,” said Manuel Neuer on “DAZN”. Joshua Kimmich spoke of “hara-kiri” with regard to Barca’s style of play. The term also describes FC Bayern’s defensive behavior quite well.

FC Bayern: Risky play in defense doesn’t work yet

It has been clear since Wednesday evening at the latest that FC Bayern’s current approach with the high-risk defense is not (yet) working. The only win in the last five games was the 4-0 against VfB Stuttgart at the weekend. So against a team that relies less on switching moments on offense and perhaps doesn’t have a lot of speed at the top.

Bayern’s defense is strong under Kompany and is defended one-on-one. No additional insurance is planned. Such an approach promotes spectacular offensive football, but individual mistakes are quickly punished on defense.

Above all, the focus is on the defenders, where every step taken too late, every small positional error, every small negligence in the duel can be punished with a goal conceded.

It is doubtful, at least at the moment, whether Upamecano and Kim will work in this system.

FC Bayern: “Finale Dahoam” is in danger

Both central defenders seemed overwhelmed by Barcelona’s pace, and Raphael Guerreiro, who was called up as right-back, also had a lot of trouble. On Wednesday, the basics such as duel behavior and commitment were also not right. And not for the first time this season.

A 1:4 in Barcelona is definitely not FC Bayern’s goal, nor is 23rd place in the new Champions League table.

Benfica Lisbon and Paris Saint-Germain are the next opponents in the premier class. Certainly not easy opponents against whom Bayern have to score points after two defeats – otherwise the dream of the “Finale Dahoam” next spring could quickly be over.

For these games, coach Kompany has to move away from his risky defensive game, from defensive hara-kiri. The question remains whether the Belgian, who is so convinced of his risky football, is pragmatic enough to recognize that things cannot continue like this.