FC Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim: Forced to go on the offensive – sport

It took 81 minutes for Julian Nagelsmann to take a step that one of his predecessors, the Dutchman Aloysius Paulus Maria “Louis” van Gaal, would never have taken. In Munich, Van Gaal once coined sentences from the family (“Greetings to all mothers”) and the floral area (“Death or gladioli”), but no statement from him stuck like “Müller always plays” – a sentence that has since It is the law and has consequences if it is disregarded, as another Nagelsmann predecessor, the dismissed Niko Kovac, can report.

But now, in the Bundesliga game against TSG Hoffenheim, Müller left the field just before the end when the score was 1-1. He was again the linchpin of an excellent combining, pressing and playful Bayern offensive, the same as during the week in the Champions League against Salzburg, consisting of Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Müller and Robert Lewandowski.

Only: Nine minutes before the end even a world-class quintet from FC Bayern needs a new impetus, which is why Müller – together with Jamal Musiala, who plays in the sixth position – left the field and instead Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Marcel Sabitzer came up. Neither brought new impetus, apart from a good header chance in the 83rd minute, Bayern had no further offensive scenes after Müller’s departure.

Gnabry and Coman have been playing the role of outside players for a few weeks

On the one hand, the late changes against Hoffenheim tell part of the story of the 1-1 draw in Kraichgau, with which FC Bayern continued the second half of the Bundesliga season, which was mixed from a pure result point of view – 17 points from nine games: An impressive number of great chances were created Munich, but this time they lacked that “little bit of luck” (Müller), which had contributed to them scoring seven goals during the week.

This time it could have been as many again if the goal had been converted accordingly, but the Munich team either scored from a narrow offside position (three times) or failed at the post and at the excellent Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. Müller praised the style of play, the intensity, the energy – but stated that in view of the result “rather the frustration” prevailed.

Coach Nagelsmann saw an “interesting football game for spectators and journalists”, but at the press conference he didn’t seem as if he had enjoyed the 90 minutes as much as the crowd in the sold-out stadium in Sinsheim. He criticized the space conditions: “I think – without criticizing the groundskeeper or Hoffenheim – the place was fart-dry,” said Nagelsmann. Then he spoke about a topic that is currently accompanying FC Bayern and in which the substitutions of the 81st minute play a role in a somewhat larger context.

According to his own statement on the “1734th time in the past four weeks”, he analyzed the supposedly offensive orientation with which FC Bayern is currently competing; or, if Nagelsmann has his way, has to compete.

“First of all, I find it disrespectful to Serge and King because the whole world says they can’t defend,” Nagelsmann began. Both are “world-class players, professional footballers, so defending is part of it.” Gnabry and Coman have been playing the role of outside players for a few weeks, but in the constellation with a chain of three they have more defensive tasks than usual.

In his new task during the week, Coman cleared balls in his own penalty area, which is worth seeing, Gnabry can attest to considerable diligence, nevertheless: the strengths of the two clearly lie in the offensive – and the absence of a classic full-back always causes critical situations from a tactical point of view , when one of the two players in the six position moves up. Like Joshua Kimmich, whose ball loss left the front left before Hoffenheim made it 1-0 and Kevin Vogt and David Raum were able to get into this gap.

Nagelsmann says: “The players also want the current players to play in their best positions.”

Nagelsmann emphasized that a chain of three is not per se more offensive than a chain of four, which Ralf Rangnick once explained on a tactics board in the ZDF sports studio. However, the past games of the Munich team provide indications for a counter-statement: Almost everything is going offensively at the moment, defensively there is a lack of stability in many situations.

Open detailed view

However, it is not only about tactical details, but above all about filling the appropriate roles. Nagelsmann emphasized that Bayern have been missing regular left-back Alphonso Davies for weeks, who could return to the team in “three to four weeks” at the earliest. And he spoke about the peculiarities of the role of the Bayern coach: “Being a coach at Bayern may differ from other clubs in that certain decisions are also made with the players’ consultation,” said Nagelsmann: “And the players want that too that the current players are playing at their best position.”

If you added it all up, “it would currently be this offensive line-up that makes us strongest,” said Nagelsmann. It sounded like a modification of the Van Gaal quote, which is no longer “Müller always plays” but “all offense always plays”. Conversely, it also sounded like Dayot Upamecano, Marcel Sabitzer or even Bouna Sarr – players with whom a back four could be filled – currently do not meet the quality requirements. The fact that Munich’s hands are tied in the absence of Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka was ultimately shown most clearly by the substitutions: impulses from the bank are currently not to be expected.

However, Tolisso and Goretzka are likely to return to the squad in the next two weeks, at the latest during the international break. This would ease the personal situation a bit – and it was also clear in Sinsheim: FC Bayern is certainly not in a crisis in terms of play, but rather at a high point. “If we play the upcoming games like we did today, there’s a good chance we’ll win them,” said Thomas Müller.