Julian Nagelsmann believes football is part of the entertainment industry. He sometimes mentions this to explain his preference for an offensive style. Entertainment, distraction, diversion, that’s the role played by football, at least for some fans, in these days of war in Europe. Although it is actually not the time for entertainment, as the FC Bayern coach said during the week.
On Saturday, as in the previous week, it was also about the signs that sport can set: corner flags, captain’s armbands and warm-up jackets in the national colors of Ukraine, a minute’s silence before kick-off, that was the symbolism of FC Bayern’s game against Bayer Leverkusen framed. However, the entertainment factor of the game was not to Nagelsmann’s taste. Because in the most exciting phases, the attention of the 25,000 spectators was once again on the Munich defense.
A 1:1 (1:1) after a goal by Niklas Süle and an own goal by Thomas Müller, this result between first and third in the table should not change the course of this Bundesliga season decisively. But for the form of the record champions before the Champions League second leg against Salzburg on Tuesday, the 1: 1 means that one can still not speak of optimal condition. Nagelsmann said his team played a “very good half hour”. “Then we get the goal that was avoidable.” And “the ten minutes after that we’re lucky”. A deficit would have been deserved.
In the 36th minute, Müller tucked into a Leverkusen free-kick cross, the communication with goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was probably not right. “A tad too quiet,” said Nagelsmann. In any case, the result was the first own goal in Müller’s career, the captain on Saturday, who played again for the first time after a two-week Corona break.
Memories come back to the 0:5 in Gladbach or the 2:4 in Bochum
But that was just the beginning of a phase that you rarely see in the Munich Arena, but that has happened several times this season at FC Bayern. Nagelsmann said it reminded him of the 0: 5 in Gladbach or the 2: 4 in Bochum. Instead of simply playing the ball forward, the Munich team made mistakes with back or cross passes. They seemed almost panicked. “These are points we are working on,” said Nagelsmann. But: “I don’t have an explanation as to why this happens.”
First own goal in 615 competitive games: Thomas Müller artistically steered the ball into the goal again – just in the wrong place.
(Photo: Imago/ActionPictures)
At first, Leverkusen played a counterattack badly, Amine Adli decided on the wrong pass, it could have been a big chance. That happened shortly afterwards because Dayot Upamecano played a carelessly careless back pass that Adli dribbled around Ulreich – and hit the outside of the post in the 42nd minute. In the 44th minute Adli was again alone in front of Ulreich, he missed the shot. In the 45th minute, Charles Aranguiz missed from the best position.
Bayern’s defense has been a hot topic at the club for some time, it’s all about tactics, transfers and an unusually high number of goals conceded for the team with the best defense in the Bundesliga. The fact that this story could continue on Saturday could already be seen from the line-up, which was forced to be a new one again: a chain of four made up of Omar Richards, Upamecano, Süle and Benjamin Pavard. Lucas Hernández was yellow-suspended.
Because the line-up against Leverkusen was no longer the right half at the latest, Nagelsmann did something that he had done many times in the past few weeks: he switched. In the second half, Upamecano, Süle and Pavard formed a back three. Big chances didn’t arise regularly for Leverkusen, only one: Ulreich saved against Jeremie Frimpong in the 87th minute. The goal threat on the other side was also limited. And so it remained with the only Munich goal of the day, which, in keeping with the topic, was also scored by a defender.
The defense remains the topic at Bayern – and the best defender leaves the club
Niklas Süle, 26, is known to be moving to Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in the summer. With the announcement of this transfer at the beginning of February, the debates about the Bayern defense actually only really began. And since then, as evidence, the international has been the conspicuously best defender in the team; better than the €80m-signed Hernández and better than the €42m-signed Upamecano, who hasn’t found his form in weeks.
On Saturday, Süle visibly enjoyed the cheering of the spectators and his colleagues after thrashing the ball into the goal from a corner kick. Unlike Upamecano, he didn’t make any glaring mistakes. And in the back three of the second half, he was unmistakably the boss.
He would do “everything to ensure that Dortmund comes second this year,” he said in the Sky interview, although nobody in Dortmund expects to come first. He is grateful to FC Bayern, said Süle, which is worth mentioning because not everyone at the club’s management level reportedly showed him great gratitude. And he said that he would like to say goodbye with two titles. That was a bit more of an announcement.
Because in order for Bayern to win their second title, the one in the Champions League, the Munich defenders will have to get in shape soon. So did the others, except for Süle.