Four Observations from Bayern Munich’s Paris escape

FC Bayern got the three points — but should some alarm bells be ringing?

Snap takeaways from Bayern Munich’s 2-1 UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night:

This Bayern team needs to stay on the front foot. Can it?
This was almost a tale of two halves — as in halves of the game as much as it was halves of the pitch. When this Bayern Munich team is on the ball and in control, it’s happy: looking for lethal one-touch combinations in the attacking while pressing opponents into mistakes as soon as the ball is lost.

On the other end, Bayern can look lost and disheveled. We have seen Bayern switch off at the back before; today, we saw Paris Saint-Germain hit Bayern all too easily down the flank (namely the right) with a long ball, with a PSG sprinter beating either a center-back or full-back to instantly flip the attack into the Bayern box.

One plays into the other. Bayern’s final product is often lacking compared to the work done leading up to it — too rushed at times and too hesitant at others; lacking in ideas in one moment and too clever by half in another. When a one-two leads to nothing, the transition is on. When the killer goal doesn’t come — in this case Bayern needed a third — the opponent, left alive, has a chance to come back into the game.

It makes sense that Bayern plays like this, up-tempo and unrelenting. It’s in the Bayern DNA and it suits the players well. But the energy levels are hard to sustain for a full 90’, and we see all too often what can happen when the pressing falls off and the tired legs refuse to kick on.

Once again, squandered chances nearly spoiled the day.

Fatigue factor and squad depth
It is no secret that Bayern and José Barcala have been dealing with a lengthy absentee list and today was no different. Sophie Proost (illness) and Kassandra Potsi (knock) both did not even make the trip, leaving Bayern two reserve wingers down and short on firepower to spare.

Fatigue had much to do with Franziska Kett failing to outbox a PSG winger on a not-super-accurate ball over the top, and Klara Bühl opting not to go for it on a Bayern ball down the seam that an offside Pernille Harder had left for her. It probably also played a role in Linda Dallman’s mistake-filled game and Bayern’s scrambled chances at goal in the second half when the time was there to size up a better option.

But this is a Bayern team that, injuries aside, has been begging for another signing — especially in attack. Will a match like this be seen as vindication that the squad calibration has been fine enough, or will it serve as a wake-up call for January? One hopes it is the latter.

Hurrahs still deserved
Lest we go the entire way on a negative note — this was a well-earned three points for Bayern and an improvement after disappointments in opposite ways against Manchester City (collapse) and Real Madrid (having to come back only to draw).

When Bayern was on, Bayern was on. After two games’ rest, Player of the Match winner Klara Bühl showed why she’s got “Big Game” appended to her appellation. She and Pernille Harder were a class apart in baring Bayern’s teeth. It is a disappointing performance from the PSG perspective, in the sense that they dared their opponents to show some attacking quality and got roundly smacked in the head for it. Could they have been smarter about it? Who knows. When you go up against Bayern, you don’t have a lot of room for error.

And the forward pair were not the only solid performers on the night. Full-back Franziska Kett has been a revelation these past two seasons and the 21-year-old gives Bayern potent attacking combinations on the left flank. Bernadette Amani, a smart defensive midfield signing from last January, has been key at cleaning up in the middle and spared Bayern’s blushes with a few late interventions. Momoko Tanikawa fought through a lot of fouls (hey, where were the yellows?) to put in incisive passes in the attacking central third, flashing her quality in a solid shift even if it was not entirely her night. For more waxing poetic about the Bayern performances, check our Match Awards.

All things considered, there was a lot to like, especially if you chop the worst 20’ or so out of the contest. Got to keep it up for the full 90’, though…

No rest for the weary
Now for a look ahead.

Bayern has been on a ghastly gauntlet of games. All things considered, Barcala is managing this with impressive poise, resting key players in Bayern’s Pokal win over Leverkusen and league win over top-four Werder Bremen — the two games sandwiched between today’s UWCL bout against PSG and the one against Real Madrid on October 28th.

It’s not even been two weeks for these four games and Wolfsburg is next up at the weekend. The She-Wolves have been left in the dust by the Bavarians in recent league campaigns but are still a threat, and with an 8-0-1 record to start the season, are nipping right at Bayern’s heels. Saturday is a chance for the Frauen-Bundesliga race to get real interesting…