FC Bayern have had 56 shots on goal in the last two Bundesliga games against Gladbach and Union Berlin. Only two of them were followed by jubilation, which makes a hit rate of less than four percent. These statistics impressively underline what FC Bayern is currently missing without Robert Lewandowski: callousness.
After the best start to the season in Bundesliga history (nine points and 17 goals from three games/scoring rate: 22 percent), it is too early to speak of a real Bayern crisis. But the last appearances revealed problems that the German record champions have to get under control quickly before the Champions League opener against Inter Milan (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m.).
In the search for reasons for the Munich final weakness, the trail inevitably leads to the departure of Robert Lewandowski to FC Barcelona. Is the Pole missing from the record champions? “The question only exists because you [die Journalisten] she provides,” coach Julian Nagelsmann reacted defiantly after the recent draw at Union.
FC Bayern: Sadio Mané hardly touches the ball
And yet the initial image, according to which FC Bayern could act “even better” and “with more options” (quoted by Joshua Kimmich) without their goalscorer, has changed somewhat. This is not least due to the fact that Lewandowski’s replacement Sadio Mané is not yet getting going.
The former Liverpool player got off to a great start and scored in three of his first four competitive games for Bayern Munich. A circumstance that cannot hide the fact that the Senegalese lack the connection to the FC Bayern game.
On average, Mané only has 31 ball actions per game. At Liverpool FC in the Premier League there were just over 50 last season. “Basically, I’ve never wanted a player to have little ball contact,” Nagelsmann said recently.
Munich system tailored to Lewandowski
The fact that Mané is still somewhat alienated from his position and role is largely due to the system changeover at FC Bayern. The 4-2-3-1, which has been part of Bayern’s DNA almost chiseled in stone in recent years, gave way to a 4-4-2 in the summer. This happened for one simple reason: without Lewandowski, Munich have no target player in the center of the attack.
“Lewandowski’s rhythm was perfectly matched to the team. Mané has to integrate now,” analyzed ex-Bayern coach Felix Magath on “Bild”. The best example: The 30-year-old scored five (!) goals in the first four matchdays, which VAR conceded again for offside. Blind understanding with colleagues and fine-tuning are still missing.
No goal: Mané scores from offside against Wolfsburg
Mané acted mainly as a left winger at Liverpool and matured into a world-class player there. Leroy Sané currently holds this position in the Munich game. Although the Germany international has been criticized a lot, this season he has compared to Mané with the same number of goals, more shots on target, more successful dribbles and more ball actions.
Discussion about Mané’s suitability “total nonsense”?
It was clear that the Mané player type is not a one-to-one replacement for Lewandowski. However, if it becomes more and more apparent that the strengths of the Senegalese in the top striker are not sufficiently effective, FC Bayern is faced with a problem: they are missing a real centre-forward.
Joshua Zirkzee was sold to Bologna FC, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was injured for months. Against Gladbach, defensive edge Matthijs de Ligt should force victory in the front line.
The discussion about the Munich nine is “total nonsense”, explained Stefan Effenberg in “Sport1-Doppelpass”, but the last few games have revealed a systematic weakness in Bayern’s game. Against deep and compact opponents, the record champion cannot rely on his cross means. There is a lack of presence in the opposing penalty area – and callousness.
There is definitely something to both expert opinions from Magath and Effenberg. But if Bayern win against Inter, the discussions should definitely end as quickly as they started.
Tom Kuehner