After the embarrassing cup exit at 1. FC Saarbrücken, there is a mood of crisis at Bayern Munich. With a win in the top game, Borussia Dortmund could hit the faltering FCB hard again. It will be exciting to see what approach BVB tries to achieve this.
The record champions and cup winners are wavering, that can certainly be said. Bayern Munich was embarrassed in the DFB Cup by third division team 1. FC Saarbrücken (1:2), and also lost central defender Mathijs de Ligt (partial tear of the inner ligament) due to injury. And in the league, FCB (23 points) is “only” the pursuer of league leaders Bayer Leverkusen (25).
In the top game on Saturday (November 4th, 2023, 6:30 p.m.), Borussia Dortmund (21 points) has the chance to overtake their ailing rivals with a win. From BVB’s perspective, that would also be the end of a black series. Bayern have won in eight of the last nine duels with a draw. It’s been five years since Dortmund’s last Bundesliga home win over FCB.
Offensive: Technically strong players impressed against TSG
Reason enough for coach Edin Terzic, now in front of a home crowd against a faltering FC Bayern Munich, who have given Dortmund 44 goals in the last 13 duels and sometimes humiliated them, to choose an offensive approach.
The fact that BVB has been able to cope with setbacks this season and is stable in terms of results has so far come at the expense of the “magic factor” in the game. It was also a narrow win against Hoffenheim in the cup (1-0), with former captain Marco Reus scoring the golden goal as the full-time game decider.
However, Dortmund impressed against TSG in their offensive 4-3-3 system, but the exploitation of their chances left a lot to be desired. The statistics on Wednesday evening showed 22:6 shots on goal for BVB, who also had the majority of possession and won more duels.
Coach Terzic praises BVB’s progress on offense
“We have taken a clear step forward,” said coach Edin Terzic after reaching the DFB Cup round of 16. “Also in the area of how we combined and positioned ourselves on offense.” He gave many more technically skilled players a chance in the starting line-up against Hoffenheim. In the offensive midfield, Reus and Julian Brandt, both strong in combination but also experienced, swirled in the attacking midfield, while further up the field were the young attackers Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (19 years old), Youssoufa Moukoko (18) and Giovanni Reyna (20).
Remarkable: Despite all the enthusiasm in the attacking third and the successful position changes that caused TSG to be thrown into disarray, BVB still did not lack the necessary calmness and discipline in defense.
Defensive: Robust players impressed in Newcastle, for example
Keyword defense – Terzic should be aware, however, that Bayern Munich is of a different caliber than Hoffenheim. And that’s why BVB should perhaps act more carefully. Only two Bundesliga teams scored more counterattack goals than Bayern (four), who already have the best goal tally in the league (34).
In addition, the offensive stars such as Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman, who were rested in Saarbrücken, will return to the FCB starting eleven against Dortmund. Dortmund shouldn’t allow many chances against Munich. Only two teams in the league needed an average of fewer shots on goal to score a goal than Bayern (six).
Saarbrücken’s defensive 5-4-1 alignment – of course due to the lack of an alternative – meant that the record champions acted uninspired. The FCB despaired, hardly created any good chances despite the advantage in possession and was worn down by the disciplined Saarbrücken team. So coach Thomas Tuchel admitted on the ARD microphone. “We had problems adapting to the aggressive style of play.”
It is also conceivable that Terzic will also rely on the Munich team to be worn down and have physically robust professionals in the lineup against Bayern. This is how the coup in the Champions League against Newcastle United (1-0) came about a week ago. Then Niclas Füllkrug stormed in, flanked by Reus and Donyell Malen. The midfield consisted of Marcel Sabitzer, Felix Nmecha (who scored the golden goal) and captain Emre Can.
Salih Özcan, who shone as a six against Hoffenheim, should play anyway because Can’s bad knee “unfortunately hasn’t developed that well in the last few days [hat] as hoped,” as Terzic explained.
