Bayern 4 – 0 Frankfurt: With eyes set upon the round of 16  | OneFootball

While everyone was expecting a tough match, Bayern beat Frankfurt with relative ease. During the first half, Bayern had at least three chances where having attackers able or daring to take a shot on the first touch would have made a difference. Sané was very poor when getting into shooting positions, but he was a key player in attacking the left flank and his efforts were rewarded when he assisted Olise for the 1-0.

This article written by Pepe Salazar

Besides the positive result, some concerns arose from this match. The obvious one was Kimmich’s injury; will he be available, and if not, what are Vincent Kompany’s options?

The second concern is that despite pressing very high, and Müller leading that phase beautifully, Bayern was not very efficient in doing so. If Bayern tries to press Leverkusen, failing to do so and leaving our CBs open for the counter may be bad news.

The third and final concern is Kim’s health; he stated he’s been playing with Achilles tendon problems and a lot of pain, yet, he was not rested for this match and even played the full 90 minutes. Will he be able to catch a break against Stuttgart or will Kompany continue to play him in that condition, risking his performance against Leverkusen? Starting Guerreiro as a LB and Ito as a LCB may be an option that gives Kim and Davies a break so they’ll be ready for the round of 16.

Rotations

Kompany rotated a few players. Kane due to injury. Davies is still recovering, same with Upamecano. At this point of the season rotations will be necessary. Maybe Kompany could consider starting Palhinha, who could provide a lot of defensive support in the midfield, and could be an asset in tight circumstances. Additionally, Boey could also benefit from playing more often.

If Bayern wants to be able to take on the UCL and Bundesliga, Kompany will benefit from keeping his most important players fit. He could strengthen the squad depth by giving more minutes to players that don’t start as often and could contribute something to the squad if they are fit and ready to be subbed on when needed.

It was also rather strange to see Kompany have an injured Harry Kane play over 30 minutes. Given a two goal advantage, was it necessary to risk our striker’s health? Same for Kim playing the full match. For these situations where the team is dominating and has a clear advantage, wouldn’t it be smarter to give a chance to other substitutes who may benefit from some minutes on the pitch?

Weak spots

As we saw in the lucky 0-0 vs Leverkusen, this team’s main weakness is not being able to resist the press. By pressing Bayern’s double pivot, Leverkusen completely destroyed Bayern’s build up phase, thus, also the possession and attacking phases. They didn’t have to defend near their box because they did so near Bayern’s box.

Kompany should create solutions for when the team faces high-pressing scenarios by add another midfielder, drop to a situational back three, force Musiala or Kane to drop deep? Being able to play on the counter may also be a way of scoring in scenarios where the team is not able to keep possession for long spells.

Another trend is that this team creates a lot of chances but often fails to score, even with Kane on the pitch. Today this was the case. This is not as problematic when Bayern dominates, but the squad should be more efficient, as wasting chances will certainly make a difference in big games, and Bayern has two of those coming up.

Good news

Musiala’s Mbappé-type goal was something we had been waiting a long time to see. Besides that, it’s great to see this team can score and create danger without Kane. No need to force the Englishman to risk a bigger injury by starting him when he clearly needs recovery.

Second, despite failing to score, Sané has become the obvious choice for the LW position, which has seen the likes of him, Gnabry and Coman fight for the starting spot.

Thomas Müller had a good game; he may not have the physicality to run, press and assist for 90 minutes, but he is still the type of player Bayern can rely on to do his job and play with intensity when he has to. It’s good news to know that he can still do more than play just a few minutes as we saw against Celtic.

Eric Dier has been a very reliable sub. It’s almost certain that he will leave Bayern this summer, but maybe the board should acknowledge that the man has been a true professional, has been good as a substitute, and is not particularly expensive. In his role as a substitute he has stepped up whenever needed, so maybe Bayern should keep him.

Hiroki Ito has been very good at LB when given the chance, so this is great news for Bayern’s back-line.

The last good news coming from today’s match are bitter sweet: regardless of Kimmich’s injury, Bayern scored four goals, continued to dominate the game, and Kimmich’s absence was barely noticeable. While it’s worrying to see Kimmich leave straight to the dressing room after an undisclosed injury, it’s relieving to see the team can also do well without him.

The midfield wasn’t affected by his substitution and Goretzka and Pavlovic were able to keep things under control. To a certain extent, without Kimmich, the midfield looked a bit faster and physically stronger, and Pavlovic had a terrific performance in terms of pass completion and individual challenges won.

What’s next

Stuttgart is not having a great season and Kompany should continue to rotate his squad. Even if Kimmich is not injured, it may be good for him, Kane, Musiala and Davies to be rested so they can be at their best for the biggest games of the season.

If Kompany is able to end Xabi’s unbeaten run against Bayern he’ll clear a lot of the air around him in regards to him not being able to take on big matches in the Champions League. So far this Bundesliga season has been very good; at this point of the season, keeping a healthy squad, rotating and creating tactical variations will be crucial to keep the lead towards the League title, but also to give this team higher chances of turning things around in the Champions League.