Despite having won the Double last season, Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola have often looked a weaker force as compared to his predecessor Jupp Heynckesai??i?? Treble winning machine. Whether this was due to numerous tactical changes or injuries, it raised eyebrows around the world. But over the last couple of months, Pep has managed to unleash his team as a perfect blend of his own and ai???Jupp-ianai??i?? philosophies.
After having amassed seventeen goals in their last three games versus Hannover, Werder Bremen and AS Roma, Bayern Munich visited second placed Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday in hopes to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to seven points. In what proved to be a tense 0-0 draw, the Bavarians should be happy to escape with a point, with Manuel Neuerai??i??s brilliance bailing them out on various occasions. However, this by no means signalled the end of a great run of form, but simply as a reminder that they were ready to face all kinds of opposition.
Over the last few months, Pep Guardiolaai??i??s team exploded into form and it has finally looked like the team that it promised to be after Jupp Heynckesai??i?? reign. Arjen Robben has proved himself to be a genuine Ballon dai??i??Or contender; Mario Gotze has shown why he was considered Germanyai??i??s next superstar, and new signings Juan Bernat and Mehdi Benatia have proven that they are truly deserving of the Bayern jersey. Yet, with all the individual quality in the team, Guardiola has left his mark in the form of the effective hybrid 3-4-3 formation, which has finally worked to perfection.
What Guardiola calls ai???boring possession based footballai??i??, has morphed into a more direct system. Traditional full-backs have been replaced by the surging central runs of David Alaba and Rafinha while protected by the midfield and center backs. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mullerai??i??s aerial presence and intelligent movement sees more crosses and direct balls delivered into the box as compared to slower build up from defence. Tighter possession in the attacking half forces more errors by the opposition defence, as seen against Roma in the Champions League.
We have seen less of the errors that characterized their 5-0 loss to Real Madrid last season. Although the team seems to still struggle against the rapid counter, their efficiency in the final third has improved a lot. Additionally, the new signings have made the team more versatile. Juan Bernat plays the left back role just as comfortable as a more advanced one, Jerome Boateng and Mehdi Benatia do not lack the pace to keep astride with faster opposition and the midfield duo of Xabi Alonso and Philipp Lahm are just as comfortable on the back foot to break up play as they are playmaking.
Another important piece of the puzzle is the mercurial Arjen Robben. There might be supreme quality in the team, but the Dutch winger is irreplaceable – the only dropped points this season were the games he did not play. He provides the much needed trickery and directness that the team needs with his constant presence on the left wing, and there is no better man in world football to terrorize opposition defences.
The depth of the squad has greatly improved too, despite injuries to crucial players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez. If players like Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri are mainly used off the bench, then it speaks volumes about the strength of the team. With other capable players like Danish youngster Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the energetic Sebastian Rode in the squad, there is no cause of worry when it comes to squad strength.
These make Bayern Munich one of the most feared teams in the world and rightly so. There is a perfect balance of direct attacking football with patient build up. Pep Guardiola looks to finally have ironed out the problems of last year. However with all that said, sterner tasks in the form of tricky ties at Hamburg in the German Cup and Borussia Dortmund in the league await them. What remains to be seen is that whether fatigue will overcome the system and lead to a few bad games, or will the Reds roll on?
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