Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
For two consecutive years, Bayern stopped in the Quarter-finals of the Champions League, and with an early exit in the second round of the German Cup, the season was basically "over" in mid-April. Unlike a year ago, when he was able to draw paris Saint-Germain with a residual score, he was unwillingly out because of the inferiority of the away goal, and now he is "suffocated" by Villarreal, the second weakest in theoretical strength in the quarterfinals, in a relatively complete lineup, and Bayern is completely self-inflicted. This is the first time bayern have been eliminated by a champion-level team in a non-major league since returning to the Champions League in 2008/09. Or, in the second leg of the 2007/08 League Cup semi-finals, this is the first time bayern has been kicked away by an opponent who is significantly weaker than himself in the European knockout round.
Stopping in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Bayern were disappointed.
Although the two-legged loss of 1-2 to last season's Europa League title is not a "shame", he can not blame for the series of mistakes in these two legs for "Flick successor" Nagelsmann, who joined from Leipzig RB for a record-breaking 25 million euros. It can even be said that the two rounds of "Yellow Dive" have become a watershed in the career evaluation of this talented young coach. Until, if any, a big war that can turn the wind around, the pressure on him inside and outside the club will continue to increase, as will the chairman of the board, Kahn, who has poached him, and the sports director Salihamidzic.
Switch to three-back fight
Compared to the first leg of the fluke only 0-1 loss, Bayern's performance has indeed improved significantly after returning home. Learning the bitter lesson of 6 days ago, Nagelsman unexpectedly gave up 4231, which had played four consecutive games, and instead played three defenders to fight for his life. After recovering from his illness, Alfonso Davis did not start, With Comão on one side with Sane, Musiara standing in front of Kimmich with Goretzka, and Müller pushing to the front to support Levandowski to form the 3142 position.
In the two legs of the quarter-final against Salzburg, Bayern also played a three-back with two wingers in charge of the wing, but it was only 3241 at the time, and the front five - Levan, Müller, Koman, Sane and Gnabry started collectively, while Tolisso/Musiara assisted Kimmich in the midfield. This time, due to the return of Goretska, the coach sacrificed Gnabry. Although more aggressive in terms of formation, the presence of Goretska makes the balance between attack and defense relatively good.
There were several clashes between Lewandowski and Albior.
Pushing Müller directly into the front line was clear, as Levan had little respite in the first leg under the double pinch of Albior and Paul Torres, and a helper was needed to disperse the fire. Even if Shubo Motin is in good health (despite being unexpectedly on the squad and still coming off the bench at the last minute), the manager is unlikely to put him in the starting line-up, and it makes sense to choose Müller, who played half an hour as a centre-forward in freiburg in the previous round of the league. Not only playing as a double striker, Goretzka and Mussiara will also take turns rushing into the penalty area to grab the point. After the opening, Bayern was determined to start from the flanks and no longer kept doing useless work in the middle as in the first leg.
The problem is that Bayern's attacks on the flanks rely more on the individual abilities of Koman and Sane than on effective coordination. The only successful side-and-center combination in the first half came when Sane drew two defenders on the right and then came back, Goretzka was the first to slant in the center of the penalty area, and Musiara's flicking head attack was full of strength, but unfortunately the angle was too good to be held by Lulli steadily in his arms. Even this time, it is more like Sane's helpless move, not how skilled. A truly fluid and successful side-edge fit didn't come in until the 56th minute, when after a succession of passes by Pavard, Sane and Goretzka, Müller stepped into the edge of the penalty area and shoveled high under the pressure of Lo Celso.
Levan's low shot went through Paul Torres's "small goal" and into the bottom right corner of the goal, giving Bayern hopes of a comeback.
With a combination like this, Bayern can always play easily in the first half of the season, and therefore can always easily charge their opponents with three or four goals. However, after the winter break, such a rapid and smooth side road is good, or the middle road penetration, it becomes more and more rare, so the scene gradually constipation, and the output also decreases significantly. Counting this, Bayern have scored only 1 goal or simply handed over the blank for the eighth time in the 16 official games in the second half, and the total output depends on the brush against Salzburg by 7, only 39 goals, averaging only 2.44 goals per game, which is far from the production of 93 goals and 3.58 goals per game in the first half of 26 games. Another stark contrast is in the first half: Bayern scored 42 goals in the first half, i.e. averaged 1.62 goals per first half (only 5 were not scored in the first half), but in the second half that number slipped to 1.06, a total of seven games in the first half, including the last four consecutive games.
Losing in luck and defense? Lose in offensive constipation!
Nagelsman said after the game: "The first leg was the key, we didn't perform well enough there. Today is one of the best games we've played in recent weeks. We played with a lot of intensity from the start of the game. Facing such an opponent in the backfield, it is difficult to create opportunities. In fact, against Villarreal, whose defensive quality is so high, Bayern were able to use a high-post rush to turn it into a goal, and also created four good shots in the box (Müller 2 times, Musiara and 1 each for Pamecano), which is indeed much better than the first leg of the attacking pool and the defense repeatedly exposing loopholes, and it is indeed a better recent game. The problem is that this kind of play is still worse than most of the first half of the game, still below the average level of this team.
Müller missed two chances to shoot from the edge of the penalty area.
In terms of preventing opponents from fighting back, Bayern has done a good job in this game. In a situation where almost the whole team overwhelmed the half-time siege, the competition and interception of the opponent's long pass or direct pass to the first drop point, including the protection of the two penalties, this three-man defense led by Palmecano did not mess around as often as in the first leg, the distance between the three remained reasonable, and the division of labor was relatively clear, until unfortunately the 88th minute of the loss of the ball appeared. Many people accused Coach of replacing Lucas Hernandez with Alfonso Davis in the 87th minute, but Coach explained after the game that on the one hand, it was because Lucas was injured and not an active substitution, on the other hand, it was aimed at the opponent to replace Chukovueze, the fastest horse, so replaced by the fastest Davis to guard.
Whether Lucas's injury was too serious for him to hold on to the side first, but the idea of using Davis to defend Chukovueze could not be said to be too much of a problem, but the result was unfortunate. A similar attack, Villarreal played once in the first leg, when It was Danjuma who crossed diagonally in the center of the penalty area before Lucas, while Hlard Moreno played the role of Chukwuezer, but it was Davis who struggled to defuse Moreno's close-range push in the final moments. This time, Davis, although he did not lose his position, was half a step slower, and the shot kicked by Chukoveuze bounced just over Neuer's head.
It's not so much a fatal mistake to replace Davis for Lucas as it is a bigger failure to replace the physically exhausted Sane – Sane actually played well, and the 3 great opportunities of Hupa and Mueller were related to him, but after 70 minutes, the coach chose to replace Musiara with Gnabry, which did not have any effect. Compared to Sane, Comand on the left is somewhat disappointing. He did nothing in the first half and indulged in solitude in the second half, despite blowing Up Voyth, but not creating a killing chance for his teammates.
Facing Chukovuezer's shot, Davis's leg extension slowed down by half a step.
In both rounds, Villarreal had only 1 shot on target, which turned into 2 winning goals. From a data point of view, you can certainly say that the luck of "Huang Qian" is too good. But in fact, in addition to Danjuma's goal in the first leg, they also had Moreno's long-range shots and long-range hanging goal slightly offside, plus Cochrane's small angled shot into the net due to offside invalidation, and moreno and Pedraza's good opportunities in the penalty area. With the luck of losing only 1 goal in the first leg, Bayern's misfortune of being turned into a goal by an excellent opportunity by the opponent is really not enough to worry about.
In these two rounds, Bayern did not lose in failing to prevent the opponent's counterattack, but in failing to create far more scoring opportunities than the opponent. The loss of "Yellow Submarine" is of course because the tactical arrangement of The Coach in these two legs (especially the first leg) has been clearly targeted by Emery, and the impromptu mobilization is not good (replacing Pavard with Jules in the 71st minute of the first leg is also a very poor adjustment), and it is also the inevitable result of Bayern's bad performance in the past two or three months. Its occurrence is not an accident, but sooner or later, even if it is lucky enough to pass the "yellow dive", it will appear in the next round of high probability against Liverpool. In such a state, the "Yellow Dive" can also lose a small loss, and when it comes to Liverpool, it will be a "Borussia Borussia Monchengian tragedy" in minutes.
The atmosphere is too good, the conflict is insufficient, the rotation is not enough
Why did Bayern gradually lose its sharpness after entering 2022, and the original delicate and smooth and rich offensive scene gave people the feeling of returning to the "Kovac era"? First of all, one thing is for sure, the coach is very different from Kovac, who lost the locker room support early on, and Kimmich, Goretska, Koman and others have all made it clear after the successful renewal that the coach is an important factor in their stay. Despite some discordant voices during this period about Levan's dissatisfaction with The Manager's top-heavy tactical arrangements that crowded out his space for activities, the Coach has handled it well, and there have been no cases where the players are jealous of each other or even fight on the training ground.
Between Heine, Kahn and Salihamidzic (from right), there is no frequent public or implicit opposition as often as Hénez and Rummenigge once did.
However, perhaps it is precisely because the dressing room is too harmonious that Bayern's operation this season shows signs of high and low. Two months ago, after Bayern's defeat at Bochum, Uli Hoeness, who had retreated from the scenes, said publicly that he had heard that "the atmosphere in the team is good — maybe too good." There are not enough conflicts. While the coach immediately agreed, he pointed out one of the reasons for this harmony - the lack of squad thickness, the gap between the main force and the substitutes is too large, and the long absence of Goretska and Davis magnifies the problem, "Only when we are active in the transfer market can we create conflicts in the team." ”
This is the first time since Nagelsman took office that he has publicly "made demands" of Salihamidzic. Although he expressed his relatively euphemistic manner (and did not directly propose to add two or three people in the winter window as Flick did at the beginning of his tenure), in the German media reports, the manager's dissatisfaction with the thickness of the squad has long been there, and Sully should be very clear about this. So we can clearly see that the manager, who was accustomed to a large rotation during his time at Hoffenheim and Leipzig, became intimidated after coming to Bayern. He has proven that he can use a bunch of third-rate players to a second-rate effect, and even squeeze a bunch of second-rate players into a first-class and a half-team (taking Leipzig to the top four of the Champions League in history), but it is much more difficult to dial some second-rate players into first-class or even top-notch.
The cooperation between Nagelsman and Zabitzer unexpectedly failed to spark.
So far this season, the only players who have made it to the regular rotation of the coach, that is, those who can be boldly used by the coach in key games, are actually only 14 people - Neuer, Jules, Hupa, Lucas, Pavard, Davis, Kimmich, Goretzka, Musiara, Levan, Muller, Comand, Sane, Gnabry, plus Toliso, who is often injured. Zabice, who was signed by The Coach of Na Shuai's voluntary salary cut, has not been able to get playing time for the "Yellow Dive" for two rounds, and not long ago there was a rumor that he had little communication with his mentor and might leave in the summer. And Nyanzu Kwasi and Rocca, who signed in the summer of 2020, although they occasionally flashed and made some progress, the gap between their strength and the main force is still too large, not to mention the substitute Omar Richards, who has only been exempted this season.
On the one hand, the psychological inertia caused by the lack of sufficient competition and conflict in the team, on the other hand, the physical fatigue accumulated by the lack of effective rotation, and the lack of physical and mental stimulation of Bayern naturally play more and more mentally. After the abdication of Hoeness and Rummenigge, the new generation of leaders Haina, Kahn and Salihamidzic also got along too well, never expressed dissenting opinions in public, and were even more supportive of The Coach, never publicly criticizing. For the construction of the club, the "new big three" always talk about the epidemic and financial health, and strengthening the thickness and competitiveness of the team lineup is only a secondary position. The club has removed the label "FC Hollywood" from top to bottom, which is extremely unusual for Bayern, which has been in serious conflict with the team from the top and the team over the past half century ( especially last season , which also broke out between Sully and Flick).
First season: Disappointments far outweigh surprises
After being eliminated by Villarreal, Kahn, who was a "little burner" as a player, seemed to be too calm, saying: "Conceding a goal before the end of the game will of course always disappoint you. We should have played 2-0 before that. You can't blame the team, they tried their best. There aren't many teams that are more difficult than Villarreal. The desire to win that the team has shown today could not have been stronger. We were eliminated in the quarter-finals, but we didn't cry our noses. We still have a chance next year, and we'll take advantage of it. We're going to focus on the league now and do our best. ”
Nagelsmann himself admits that for Bayern, it is the lowest goal for Bayern to reach the Champions League semi-finals, and now their performance is not passed, "just winning the league title is not enough for Bayern. "In terms of the number of champions, Na Shuai is even better than Kovac, who won the double crown (plus the Super Cup) in the first season. If he can successfully win the Bundesliga title, his first season report card is about the same as Ancelotti (also out of the Champions League quarter-finals, but the German Cup reached the semi-finals). Of course, considering the style and education, including the praise of the dressing room, Na Shuai is obviously stronger than The two of them. However, compared with Flick's "superb predecessor", the first season of The Coach is undoubtedly more disappointing than surprising, especially the high and low scores of the scene and the results, which is extremely disappointing.
The honeymoon period has passed, and Nagelsman, who signed a five-year contract with Bayern, is under pressure.
As for the pressure he had to endure in the remaining weeks of the season, the coach said: "I am not afraid. There are worse things in the world. "So, what kind of situation will the coach face next season after the honeymoon period? If nothing else, Sally will pack for him to bring in Ajax double stars Herafenberg and Mazlavi, one to replace Toliso, whose contract expires, and one that is expected to cure the right-hand disease. But these two young players who have not yet proven themselves on the big stage alone will not fundamentally improve the lack of thickness and lack of competition in the Bayern squad, not to mention the possibility that Levan, whose contract extension is not progressing smoothly, may leave.
Bayern's competitive prospects for the next two or three years will largely depend on whether Levan, Neuer and Müller, the three top payers over the age of 32, will renew their contracts. Among them, Levan is expected to put forward a request for an annual salary of up to 30 million euros for his new contract. With such a heavy burden, can Bayern continue to bear it? With Messi's experience in Barcelona, do Kahn and Sali have the courage and vision to "break away" in order to open a new competitive chapter? If he does break up with Levan this summer, get a transfer fee and free up salary space, who can fill this huge competitive gap to ensure that Bayern remains competitive among the "Top Four in Europe" (Kahn's goal)?