Kaiserslautern Revenge

5 wins in a row, 5 games without conceding a goal in a row.  Exactly on this day, Kaiserslautern defeated Bayern Munich last season 2-0 at the exact same stadium, and Bayern finally got their revenge.  It's also the first time since 2010 that Bayern has been in first place, since they last won the title in the 2009/2010 season.  Bayern started out brilliantly with having four quality chances in the first ten minutes alone.  Gomez failed to convert his shot from a tough angle off a set piece, Van Buyten's header was brilliantly saved, Gomez header was saved off the line & then Lahm had the chance of the half.  A great dribble going past two players before playing a 1-2 with Muller and getting an easy 1v1 with the keeper.  Lahm missed just wide, however he should have scored, or at least passed to Gomez for an easy tap in.  Either way Bayern earned a penalty for a clear handball on Rodnei as he was trying to mark Muller in the box.  Gomez scored and the first half ended 1-0.  Most of the first half was a standstill after the first ten minutes, few chances for Bayern.

"It was all him!" Gomez & Muller duo continue to impress

The 2nd half started a bit more lively, and Bayern earned another penalty.  This time Muller was fouled for silly and completely avoidable foul in the box, once again Rodnei being the culprit.  It looked by the looks that he got kneed in the jewels, but you would have to ask Muller yourself if it really hit the spot.  Anyways, it was a case of deja vu, with Gomez scoring another penalty.. or rather the rebound.  The goalkeeper guessed the right way and stopped it, but the ball bounced back to Gomez who coolly slotted it in.  Lahm had a similar situation with Muller, yet again with a 1-2 but he took one touch too many and lost the ball instead of shooting the ball on target.  Gomez put the icing on the cake finishing completing what is hopefully the first of many hat-tricks, with Muller doing some fantastic build up, getting the ball from Ribery, heading towards the opposite directions and running with it before laying it off to Gomez, who slotted it in clinically.  While Ribery & Lahm didn't score nor assist, they were fantastic in attack and nearly every attack was coming from their side.  It's a shame Robben was injured, and Rafinha benched, because the right side with Boateng & Alaba was very non-existant in attack today.  Hopefully Jupp comes to his sense here and starts Rafinha on the right, we need a player who can initiate attacks from the back on the right side & attack well.

If we don't move, maybe he'll score.. ...

Bayern didn't allow FCK any chances, as has been the story of the season so far, even though they have had the easiest schedule opening that I remember in recent years.  Soon enough however, with Champions League opponents & tough Bundesliga teams, the defense will finally start to get tested.  What was particularly impressive this match was Goller, or Gomez & Muller.. and my bad attempt to recreate a new Robbery-like nickname for certain Bayern players.  However with their early form, one has to wonder whether Muller & Gomez can be more important than Ribery & Robben this season.  A look at some stats:

7 Games ~ 1 goal conceded, 6 clean sheets

Muller: 1 goal, 7 assists

Gomez: 6 goals, 1 assist

Out of 7 games altogether, Bayern has scored 15 goals altogether.  Nearly 1/2 of those have been scored by Gomez & Muller, and just over 1/2 have been assisted by the two as well.  Another outstanding statistic is that out of the 7 assists that Muller has made so far, 5 of those are goals that Gomez has scored.  That's almost every goal Gomez has scored so far this season!  It shows that their chemistry is getting better and better and unlike Robbery, they aren't injury prone like the two wingers (knock on wood).  Now it's time for international break, but Bayern have bounced well after the Bundesliga opener defeat to Monchengladbach.  Also well done on Jupp on yet another well coached match, so far early signs show that the Bayern FO got the right coach for the job!

If you wish to discuss the match, go here

Finishing the job.. and unto the Champions League

So Bayern after winning 2-0 at home, had to go Zurich which itself was a short trip to simply not not loose by more than 2 goals.  Simply keeping a clean sheet would do the job and that's what Bayern did.. along with scoring a goal the 6th minute thanks to Mario Gomez.  That's the 5th clean sheet in 6 matches so far this season.  Bayern started out well, the first 20 minutes attacked but due to the early goal, they started to relax afterwards and the match itself wasn't necessarily too interesting.  Ribery while quiet the first half, exploded the 2nd half and really should have scored or assisted a goal, but poor finishing along with other players not being clinical enough to score his assists, he ended up with nothing.  Still it is encouraging, but we will need him in that form the entire 90 minutes, not just the 2nd half when the opposition may be fatigued.

Gomez took a knock right at the end of the first half and got taken off for Petersen.  Rafinha was rested, and Robben on the bench as he was injured but could still play.  Bayern simply didn't want to risk him unless they had to.  So far Jupp's "rotation policy" has worked very well.  Actually, I would not be surprised at all if I saw Tymoschuk starting over Gustavo this weekend against FCK for precisely this reason.  This also encourages players that aren't starters to give it more than usual, since they get to play more during the season and have chances to impress.

A team goal worth winning a match with

Bayern didn't look too threatened by Zurich, especially in open play as there were very few chances made.  However during set pieces the team looked confused and was making mistakes.  Neuer cleared a ball with his wrist as if he was playing volleyball, but the ball should have been cleared before reaching the target.  He also punched the ball off another set piece and it fell to a Zurich player just outside the 18 yard box, but he shot wide.  Otherwise while secure, Neuer needs to instill confidence in our defense the entire 90 minutes and mistakes like that can prove costly vs clinical opponents like United or Barcelona.  Another set piece was cleared by Boateng, but the ball fell to the ground kindly to Bayern as it could have been an easy tap in on another day.  Even against Wolfsburg, Helmes scored a legitimate goal called wrongly offsides..  yeah you guessed it, from yet another set piece!  Heynckes will need to get to work on this but otherwise we can look to the upcoming match vs FCK after a 4 game winning streak, with confidence.

You can view the match discussion here

A 5 star thrashing

Boateng said that Bayern would soon "explode into form" a few days ago and so Bayern listened.. as they thrashed Hamburg 5-0 at home in a match that could have easily went to double figures if the hosts were more clinical.  With the important Zurich tie on Tuesday, it was clear what game is the most important, as Heynckes decided to do a bit of rotating this time out.  3 changes from the team that won against Zurich, Tymoschuk & Van Buyten clearly starting so Gustavo & Boateng could be rested, while Muller starting due to outperforming Kroos.

 Ribery along with Robben in top form, Robbery masterclass

Bayern basically dominated the match from the first until the last minute, and I could not tell was this because Bayern was playing that good or whether Hamburger was really that bad.  I'm assuming it's a mixture of both.  All 3 changes that Jupp made paid off, as all three players had good games.  Van Buyten played well in defense, and scored the all important goal off a set piece to start things up and what a header.  Tymo while limited in attack bar one great shot, dominated the middle entirely with Schweini as well as giving him the license to roam and attack more.  After scoring the first goal, Bayern scored a quick 2nd soon after, Robben taking a quick throw in to Muller who passed to Ribery and all he had to do was a nice dribble with a good finish.. along with Hamburg's dreadful defending along the way.

After a couple of chances being missed by Bayern, Robben took upon himself with a majestic goal, running past 2 players and with someone by him and the keeper to beat, he lobs it over him.  Messi would be proud of him.  Muller than had two golden chances to score, once he chested it and hit the post and then another chance right after he couldn't control the ball.  Right before the half ended, Muller had another 1v1 with the keeper and decided to shoot when he should have really passed to Gomez for an open net.  Not to fret, all that matters is that they got the win.  Both Muller & Gomez missed a few chances this game, and need to find their finishing boots soon, but I'm not worried.  When players of their caliber keep getting in the right positions and getting chances, they are bound to start scoring soon enough.  The season just started, with a bit more match fitness, I'm sure both will return to their goalscoring form.

Robben with a great performance & sublime goal yet again

2nd half started the same way, Bayern dominating and Hamburg playing awful.  They did have a bit more posession during the second half but could not do much with it, Petric was missed and it was clear.  Bayern continued to make chances and the first few minutes even played on the counter attack, then the 4th goal came and it was that man Mario Gomez.  He finally broke his scoring duck, and hopefully he can start scoring at will like he did last season.  You could see it meant a lot to him since the entire team joined on the celebrations!  Robben was taken off around 60th minute and Ribery along with Gomez were replaced 20 minutes from the final whistle, all for Alaba, Olic & Petersen.  Once again, Jupp went for a bit of resting and rotating since the forward three have to play in the important match vs Zurich.  It was a good idea and even though I would have preferred this to be done sooner, he has to be commanded on letting 5 B players get some game time so early into the season.  The final goal came from Olic, after Schweini sent in a cross which Badstuber headed towards Olic for an easy header.  He looked injured for the last 10 minutes after the goal, hoping he is ok.  The diversity of the goals was a nice touch as well, with all 5 different goalscorers, 2 goals coming with the left foot, one with the right & 2 headers.  All in all, the fans can be very satisfied even against an awful Hamburger team, players rested, many goals, yet another clean sheet & good fussball.  What more could you ask for?

2-0 win at half time

So the much anticipated match vs Zurich ended in a 2-0 win.  Asking me beforehand, would I take this result?  I would probably bite the hand of whoever would offer it to me, a clean sheet and 2 goal cushion is great.  Yet after the game while still happy at the result, still sad considering the circumstances.  I know it's early, but the defense looks unrecognizable.  By saying that, it's a good thing, a great thing actually considering it has been embarrassing for years now.  3 clean sheets in 4 matches is great progress, and it's not just about the clean sheets.  It's also that Bayern hardly gives the opposing team any chance to score during the game.  Braunschweig had 0 chances during the game, Monchegladbach bar the silly error only had a long range shot saved by Neuer, Wolfsburg came somewhat close a few times but handled ultimately and now Zurich only had one chance all match during a set piece which in itself was dreadfully defended as a whole.  In other words, the defense looks like a huge upgrade.  Every single player looks better.  Neuer is a huge improvement in just about every aspect, Boateng looks like the best defender we've had in ages, and Rafinha so far suprisingly looks very solid in defense.  Not to mention both Badstuber and Lahm both look better than previous seasons, Badstuber because he has a capable partner next to him along with playing deeper and not being exposed to his lack of pace and Lahm because he's always been a world class LB playing on the right.  From last season, every single position from the back 5 looks improved and it shows.  We will see if it continues though, we need to know how they cope vs strong, attacking teams.

Schweini scoring an early goal, with a header!

The match itself started in high spirits, Bayern attacking from the get go.  In general in the match they should have scored at least 4, 5 goals but poor finishing and good goalkeeping let them down.  Either way the first goal came very quickly, something Bayern isn't used to at all actually.. I believe the first since Podolski was here did Bayern score a goal so quickly during the match in the first few minutes of the match, Schweinsteiger being the culprit with a great, accurate header.  The ball came from a corner which fell to a Zurich player, Gustavo stealing the ball and passing quickly to Robben on the left side for a cross, which deflected off a Zurich defender and then it was all for Schweini to head it home.  And he did so in the 8th minute of the match!  For the first 20 minutes of the game, Bayern tried to attack and score that 2nd goal but couldn't, the best chance came with Lahm playing a 1-2 with Gomez and getting a 1v1 with the keeper which he missed.  Gomez also had 2 good chances in the half but it didn't seem his night, as neither went in.  The rest of the half was Bayern in control not necessarily trying to score but simply control the tempo and hold on the ball, which they did with ease.

With Buyten on the bench, Ribery may have found a new boyfriend

2nd half started with Bayern attacking at will, as they spend most of the half just trying to score a goal.  Many, many chances came Bayern's way but they decided to miss them all to make the match more interesting and tense! (I kid..)  Gomez getting another chance and surprise, him missing yet another chance, as Ribery had a good move to give Gomez a clear chance but he shot a bit too far off the net instead of going for a placement shot.. he went for power when he was so close to the net!  Ribery himself hit the post from a free kick, and then had a chance himself which he shot right at the keeper.  Lahm also had a rebound shot saved by the keeper, which he really should have scored.  There were also late penalty claims from Muller who was introduced 55th minute & Gomez later on in the final minutes, neither given unfortunately.  It seemed Gomez rounding the keeper and shooting, he was finally going to score late in the match.. but a defender ran and saved off the line!  It simply wasn't his night.  I understand why Jupp did not bring in Olic at all during the game, even though that's precisely what most Bayern fans are wondering about.  Gomez still tried, and still got into positions, he didn't want to kill his confidence.  I believe it was the right decision, because sooner or later when you get those chances you are bound to start scoring them.  A good start would be vs Hamburg this weekend.

Robben.. the man who always scores brilliant goals

In other words Bayern played, much better offensively than all previous matches even though finishing let them down.  Robben apparently played at 70%, so maybe once he reaches 100%, we can see more of him because bar his assist & goal, he didn't do too much during the game.  The encouraging thing is that the last 2 matches vs Wolves & Zurich, Bayern started to create more chances.  Hope they keep improving in this regard, and then the goals will likely start to flow.. one by one..  The next game is at home vs Hamburg who if you believe Bild, are coming to play an ultra defensive formation, so scoring more than just a goal here would show that Jupp's offensive tactics are starting to bear fruit.  Even if they do not, he must have more time as they say Rome itself wasn't built in a day.  However due to Hamburg's likely formation and tactics, it could end up as a very slow and dull match where a goal may decide the tie.  Ahh what the hell, at this point give me the 3 points and we can worry about good fussball in a month or two.

Live match discussion: http://www.soccer24-7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190956

Last minute goal

After loosing 1-0 to Monchengladbach, Bayern needed a win vs Wolfsburg away from home.  Wolfsburg won their first match 3-0 away from home to Koln, so it didn't look like an easy tie, especially with Magath as their new coach.  The game looked like it was going to end 0-0 until the last minute of extra time Gustavo scored the winner with a well placed finish on the bottom, left corner.

Bayern started slowly, especially the first half chances were scarce for either team.  Helmes scored a legitimate goal last minute of the first half, but the lines-man incorrectly called it offsides.  2nd half started and for the next twenty minutes, Bayern dominated and finally showed some attacking ability for the first time this season.  They made several chances and came close but no goal.  Afterwards the game slowed down and neither team could close the match out.  Olic came on the last ten minutes and helped make the goal as he made a run passing to Ribery, who layed it off to Gustavo to score the winner!  A player that Bayern have desperately missed last season came through.

 Why the long face Felix?

Another important point that caught my attention is the defense looks more stable, Wolfsburg made very few chances and after this match Bayern have conceded only one goal in 3 games.  Yes the attack is suffering a lot lately, but Heynckes was interviewed after the game and stated that he hasn't worked on any offensive tactics, all he's done is work on their fitness & defensive organization which shows.  Next match will be at home vs Zurich and the first time Ribery & Robben start together, hopefully we can seen some attacking variety and not another borefest..  along with the defensive quality that we've see so far.  I know a lot of Bayern fans are angry that the team plays so stale, boring and predictable attacking wise with very little off the ball movement in attack.. just remember the first 3 months during Van Gaal's reign.  Bayern looked clueless in attack then and later on became the most exciting attacking team in years in the club's history.  Heynckes should be given more time, right now all that matters is that he  drastically improves the defense and keeps winning.

Deja Vu.. another bad start to the Bundesliga Season

You've seen this before haven't you, you must have if you are a Bayern fan.  Two years with Van Gaal, the season with Klinsmann, yet again Bayern start the season in poor form..  a loss at home vs Borussia Monchengladbach.  I am not overreacting about the loss, as it's only the first match of the season.  However a lot of what I saw was dissapointing.  Off the ball movement was non-existant, players just expected someone to do it all themselves or merely a two player combination to get a goal.. or perhaps the amount of crosses coming in which hardly were effective bar 3 occasions all match (there were over 20 crosses).  The safe passing was also discouraging, Bayern was playing it safe all match vs a team that finished 16th last season in the Bundesliga and at home, never anything creative but all predictable which made it easier to stop.  The amount of hopeless crosses into the box was getting more and more apparent that Bayern lacked any real ideas.

 Boateng dissapoints first match of the season

Another tactical change was the positioning of the forward line, they were allowing BMG during the entire match to pass the ball around their defense when during Van Gaal's era they never allowed teams to breathe even in their own half.  Their goalkeeper and central defenders had far, far too many touches and allowed too much time on the wall.  Gomez was positioned as an attacking midfielder during the entire time that Bayern wasn't in hold of posession.  I am unsure why this was, you have to ask the coach.  The move itself is ridiculous as Bayern should at the end of the day be playing attacking football.  If not, then at least one of Ribery, Robben or Muller (if not two) need to get benched/sold for a better counter-attacking formation.  However they are all great players and it would be ridiculous to do such a thing, yet Heynckes was playing overly defensive even though BMG defended nearly the entire match.  The defense was actually solid for once, bar the silly mistake which both Neuer & Boateng were at fault for.  Schweinsteiger also should look at himself today, he was awful in that match and added nothing to the game.  He was basically playing defensive midfield (again Heynckes, why are there 2 defensive midfielders against a team like Borussia?), but not offering much defensively like Gustavo was.  Generally bar the defense (excluding their error), there was nothing positive in the match vs BMG.  They have a lot to prove, as they are already 3 points behind Dortmund who look just as good as last season! 

The only optimistic point here is that the last time Bayern lost at home to BMG, they won the Champions League in 2001!

Three & Easy

So Bayern played their first match of the season in the DFB Cup vs Braunschweig, newly promoted Bundesliga II team.  Ribery and Robben were out due to injury as much as it may surprise everyone.. but the team still showed a boring yet professional performance.  It looked like Bayern wasn't really bothered to go all out or anywhere near that, and it showed as there were hardly any chances.  They basically created two chances all match, scoring one & also gaining two penalties thanks to MOTM Thomas Muller as Braunschweig's silly & unnecessary mistakes.  Gomez & birthday boy Schweini both converted their penalties in the first half, easing entirely into 2nd half.

It's far too early into the season to make too many judgement calls, especially vs an opponent such as Braunschweig, but some observations were there.  For one, Bayern was too static and just passed the ball around, but like I said it was more for conserving energy that we were shown a yawn-inducing match.  For one, Bayern kept a clean sheet!  Boateng first half especially looked like a one man defense.  Some good clearances here and there, he keeps impressing.  Still waiting for him to show more offensively though, I'd really like him to break out of his shell and start building up some good attacks from the back.  So far it's more of safe passes.  He still made a few mistakes, same with Rafinha, but both ran back and made up for it.  Neuer was basically a spectator other than a few passes here and there, but his distribution is really class and he showed on several occasions.

Which youngster will have a break-out season?

Alaba looked solid, but he looks a bit out of his depth at LW, mostly because he is a central midfielder and is being played out of position.  Still he impresses and you notice his talent on the pitch.  Offensively there wasn't much to talk about, since Bayern didn't really make many chances.  Muller earned two penalties & scored a brilliant 3rd goal which was a lob over the keeper at a tight angle.  One thing that I wish Muller would do a bit more this season is attack the goal, shoot from distance, get the ball and go attack right away.  It could go a long way in making him a goalscoring machine.  Really would like for him to be more ruthless and after last season, he needs to show that he can grow and not stagnate in being the same player as he was 2 years ago.  Especially if he does, he could loose his place to Toni Kroos who has been probably the best Bayern player during pre-season.  Still with Heynckes in charge, there are already a few new young players that are impressing in Alaba, Kroos, Usami & Boateng.  Boateng looks to get the hang of it already, but I am interested if any of the other three can have a breakout season. 

New season starting.. will anything be different?

So after the 10/11 dreadful season where Bayern won nothing, management decided to finally spend this summer.  As per usual, they blamed the coach they fired for everything as they usually do and pretend they were blameless in just about everything.  It's obviously everyone else's fault but theirs.  Anyways for the upcoming season, they hired Heynckes early before the season even ended and I would imagine they talked to him about transfers as well.  And Bayern has spent roughly around 40m euros, with some clauses on Neuer's case potentially increasing by 7m depending on performances/trophies.  Bayern has already bought Neuer (18m), Rafinha (5.5m), Usami (loan), Petersen (2.8m), Boateng (13.5m) and sold Ekici for 5m euros which means Bayern have the net spend of 35m euros.  Based on the Vidal chase, we know for certain that they are or perhaps were willing to spend 10m euros at least.  Especially considering that we spent nothing on a record breaking revenue year last summer, one would hope we don't stop at 35m euros.. 

 Kahn's replacement is finally here

Now lets get to the players that we have already signed and see what they can offer.  The biggest one, the superstar Neuer is obviously going to improve the team drastically.  Very expensive for a keeper, but we got arguably the best keeper in the world or second best after Iker The Saint Casillas.  In terms of having a complete keeper, this is what you get.  World class distribution, something lacking severely, he is a very good passer on the ball.  He started many good counters for Schalke last season, once even when Schalke played Bayern to Raul which resulted in a goal.  He also is a good organizer of the defense, and is solid at corner when he collects the ball, also things we have missed in our defense.  I think you will find few Bayern fans (other than Ultras) that won't see him as the biggest positive contributor to our team of all the signings.  However Neuer alone can't make all the difference, and thankfully Bayern and Heynckes have addressed the defense heavily this summer.



The second most expensive signing is Boateng.  I won't talk about the City war or words drama, because it was boring but thankfully it made them lower their demands.  Signing a player that has hardly played CB as a pro to save us from our central defensive problems was a huge question mark, he has a lot of pressure to perform.  So far, I've only seen him play vs Barcelona B team but he looked very assured and composed.  One thing that I expected from him is to pass the ball from the back, he is known for his good passing but hopefully that comes with time.  Either way it's impossible to judge now, we need to see more of him but he impressed from the little I did watch. 

Usami, the future replacement of Robbery?

Another player that impressed during pre-season is Takashi Usami.  While he doesn't run as much as he should and gets tired pretty quickly, you can see his class.  He knows when to pass, doesn't get troubled when others pressure him and has great ideas even if some of them don't work in the end.  He still has a lot of adapting to do, but if he keeps improving and showing his class at this rate.. Bayern may have already found a replacement in a few years for either Ribery or Robben.  Very excited about this signing.  Petersen was bought for Gomez, as depth as they have similar styles.  Played great in Bundesliga II and still needs to adapt to Bayern's way of playing just like Usami, though I don't think he can do any worse than Miro Klose has for Bayern in the past 2 years.  Rafinha has looked pretty good so far as well, I'm very interested in seeing how he plays with Robben and how he can handle playing defensively with a player ahead of him who doesn't help much defensively.  Hard to judge the players since any of them bar Neuer are likely to turn out great, solid or flop signings.  At least Bayern addressed part of the defensive problems.  However, I would still like if they bought one more defender to partner Boateng, they still have the money to do so.  There is still exactly a month left in the transfer window, hopefully Bayern use it to buy one more class player.