by Mergim Berisha for a long time that his phone is ringing and national coach Hansi Flick is on the other end of the line.
So far he has been waiting in vain for things to happen, but he may soon have Kylian Mbappé on the line. Tenor of the conversation: How do you manage to actually score a goal against this Bayern defence?
Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Co. scored zero goals in two games against the German record champions, Berisha scored twice on Saturday alone in FC Augsburg’s 5-3 defeat against Munich. He was also the deciding man in FCA’s 1-0 win in the first leg.
Berisha also better than Mbappé? Even from an Augsburg point of view, this is probably too daring thesis.
How strong is Bayern’s defence?
But how can it be that FC Bayern’s defense is still celebrated as a bulwark after the knockout duels against PSG, but conceded three goals against a Bundesliga club in the relegation battle? How good is Bayern’s defense really?
“I don’t think we should concede three goals today. Everyone here is a little mad about it. We always want to keep a clean sheet at the back,” revealed young Bayern star Jamal Musiala after the game. (DATA: The table of the Bundesliga)
The expected goals value (expected goals), which indicates the quality of chances, was 2.4 for FCA at the end of the game. According to the data service provider Opta, it was not that high for any other team in a competitive game away from FC Bayern, whereupon Julian Nagelsmann trained the Munich team!
Does Bayern have difficulties with supposedly easy opponents?
On the one hand, this shows that FCA probably acted bravely, but on the other hand, it also shows how carelessly Bayern Munich defended at times. For comparison: the expected goals value for PSG in the second leg was reported as 1.08.
Musiala’s explanation: “Sometimes you just have to keep your focus high. We wanted to score a lot of goals and our heads were a bit off the defensive stuff. We can do that a little bit better.”
Even before the game, Uli Hoeneß had pointed out that FCB often had difficulties after big games in the Bundesliga. “Especially against clubs that are supposedly not that strong,” said Bayern’s honorary president. “Subconsciously, you don’t take them as seriously as if we were playing against Liverpool.”
Nagelsmann remains gracious after the FCA game
In the league, on the other hand, they have already conceded 25 goals after 24 games. For context: In the 2015/16 season, Manuel Neuer conceded just 17 goals, a Bundesliga record. (DATA: Bundesliga results)
A fact that makes coach Julian Nagelsmann frown? Not really. “In the end we took a few gears out, but that was okay. We don’t have to get three goals. That was a bit unnecessary, but I think we can shoot a lot more. So that’s okay,” he said graciously after the Augsburg game.
Masterpiece against PSG, wobbly performance against FCA: How good is Bayern’s defense really? Apparently it’s all in the head!
