After a great start to the season, Bayern Munich came crashing back down to earth with their first loss of the season against Aston Villa.
Bayern naturally saw a lot of the ball in the first half but never forced Emi Martinez to make a tough save. Most of the action came on the defensive front for Bayern. Villa had a Pau Torres goal disallowed for offside in the build-up while the biggest talking point will be Dayot Upamecano who did not receive a card for a foul on Ollie Watkins when the Englishman was on the attack before minutes later committing the same offence and this time getting carded.
In the second half, Bayern were are lot more threatening and had great chances but Martinez continued to make save after save to keep Bayern out. However, Villa waited and took their chance when substituted Jhon Duran lobbed Manuel Neuer who had ventured too far off of his line. Bayern would then be chasing the game once again but Martinez continued to make save after save including right at the death. The win for Villa means in the two games against Bayern they have won 1-0 each time.
This will be a learning point for this Bayern side. This is their first loss under Vincent Kompany and at times in this game, they did not look as threatening in attack as in previous games, whether this was due to Jamal Musiala being benched, or Harry Kane not being fully fit we don’t know.
Bayern’s next game is against Eintracht Frankfurt, a team that has caused them a lot of issues over the past few seasons. With Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike being on form as well, and there being a blueprint for how to beat Bayern, it will no longer be plain sailing for Kompany and his men.
Bayern Munich XI:
Manuel Neuer (4), Konrad Laimer (5), Dayot Upamecano (4), Min-Jae Kim (5), Alphonso Davies (5), Joshua Kimmich (6), Aleksandar Pavlovic (5), Serge Gnarby (5), Michael Olise (5), Kingsley Coman (5), Harry Kane (5)
Others: Jamal Musiala (6), Leroy Sané (5), João Palhinha (5), Leon Goretzka (-), Mathys Tel (-)
GGFN Flop of the Game: Manuel Neuer and Dayot Upamecano (both 4)
Both were not at their best today. Although Neuer’s trait is being so far out from his goal in his sweeper-keeper role, when he was needed most he was caught out by Duran. While for Upamecano, he was given the run around by Ollie Watkins all night and it could be argued that he was lucky to still be on the pitch after two challenges in the first half.
After weeks of Bayern looking so strong at the back, Villa were able to expose some of the weaknesses which had been covered up by their dominant displays.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
