Four observations on FC Bayern Munich’s decisive 5-2 win over FC Augsburg

In a tough but competitive game for FC Bayern Munich, the record champion won 5-2 against FC Augsburg in the second round of the DFB Cup. This marks Bayern’s return to the cup after two consecutive years of being eliminated from the second round of the cup. While the excitement is quite high for what lies ahead, here are our takeaway points from the Bavarian crime show.

Augsburg – just good enough to worry Bayern

Bayern weren’t in the spotlight the moment they entered the game – they were physically bullied by Augsburg and gave up the first goal. That seemed to wake the beast though, and Bayern started to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes – five times! Augsburg were far from spectacular tonight – whatever they did it was sporadic and they couldn’t force any mistakes out of the game record champion all night.

Augsburg’s so-called relentless pressing was more hooliganism than anything – they just gave tough tackles and tackles like there was no tomorrow. Players like Ermedin Demirovic and Florian Niederlechner often played quite rough and without repercussions. The goddamn refereeing only bolstered Augsburg – it was almost as if the referee was vehemently opposed to showing a card.

Sluggish, uncreative and unsettling – is FC Bayern in decline?

The first 25 minutes were a nightmare – Bayern didn’t give up any chance of even remotely winning the game. Augsburg dominated through and through, every second pass was missed or intercepted. Defenders were slightly overwhelmed and possession rates were shockingly low.

That was the reality of Bayern and it almost looked as if the record champions were preparing for a brutal defeat like the DFB Cup last year after the 0:5 defeat against Gladbach. The worrying part isn’t the number of second-round exits they’ve gotten out of the cup so far – it’s the sluggish, sleepy and uncreative football they end up opening games with that’s more worrying.

Whether this phenomenon is the result of backlogs, lethargy or whatever the reason, it must be clear soon because the team may never see similar performances again. The next team that takes the lead early on Bayern shouldn’t be punished so easily.

The stubborn problem in the last third

Bayern have not been very good in the final third for a few games. This can be attributed to the lack of a proper striker – apart from Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and perhaps youngster Mathys Tel, there is no real number nine in the squad. While the chance creation and build-up play remains incredible with many beautiful team performances, it’s the damn performance in the last third that really brings Bayern down. Players simply lack the ability to finish and attackers like Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane may need to pay extra attention to really improve their finishing.

As Bayern tend towards a strikerless system, this means more and more input from the rest of the team – not only in terms of creating chances and developing the ball, but also in terms of shooting and goal attempts. So the players have to work on their goal skills – Leon Goretzka has actually already established himself in an advanced role in the team and plays an offensive role.

Glowing streaks, taken alternately

It’s undeniable that Bayern’s squad is packed with stars and big players rising to the occasion. As injuries and illnesses decimate the squad, everyone takes the chance to shine.

Choupo-Moting has been lethal in almost every appearance he has made this season and deservedly has a starting spot in the XI. Thomas Muller does Thomas Muller stuff – shows up for a limited time, makes the biggest impression possible and goes again, Jamal Musiala single-handedly makes the offense look magical with Musiagic™, Sadio Mane provides the much-needed veteran know-how pitch and so on. Today it really was Alphonso Davies who stole the show from Bayern.

His pace, which contributes to both attacking and defensive moves, and sheer skill make him the world-class left-back that he is. Bayern really wouldn’t be the same without him and Bayern couldn’t have won this game without him.

One can only hope and pray that our injury crisis will subside very soon because while it is exciting to see what the team can achieve week in and week out, one can only imagine how frightening and exciting an uninjured Bayern squad would be!

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