"Full marks for persistence," said the commentator commenting on the network on which I was watching the game. Bayern worked hard for the win despite being the better team except for about a 15 minute spell in the first half and a five minute spell in the second.
Bayern as you all know by now beat Real Madrid 2-1 (and hence proved me terribly wrong). The goals for Bayern came from Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez, either side of a Mesut Özil goal that came against the run of play. Bayern did not play as well as they could have, but the performance was still a massive improvement on their last two matches against Dortmund and Mainz.
First of all, a massive shout out should go out to the fans at the Allianz Arena. They belted out their voices all night. While the Madrid equalizer almost came as a shock, they recovered quickly and did not get disheartened. They roared their team towards victory till the end. The fans performing as the "twelfth man" is one of the reasons why Bayern has won all their home games in this season's competition. The away record is not great though: three wins, one draw and two losses.
I had said in my match preview that Bayern has kept 29 clean sheets. The defence makes small mistakes every game and this game was no exception. However, on the whole, the defence was absolutely brilliant. Bayern actually took a slightly defensive approach to this match. I felt something was different about Bayern this time. Bayern usually plays with a back four shielded by one defensive midfielder who stays behind for most of the time and another defensive midfielder who is attack minded.
While they did the same this time, Bastian Schweinsteiger sat back next to Luiz Gustavo for most of the match, while Toni Kroos connected the defence and attack. The "team effort" in stopping Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Özil cannot be undermined. While most fans out there say that Ronaldo had a poor game, I beg to differ. Ronaldo just couldn't get past the back line. When he did find a path to goal, he set up Özil after being denied by Manuel Neuer.
Bayern could have done without conceding the away goal. The goal was largely avoidable considering Neuer made the initial save. That was one occasion when the Bayern defence could have done much better. Neuer and Jerome Boateng had their usual mess up, but Neuer cleared the danger. When Neuer saved Karim Benzema's shot in the first half, you knew Neuer was up for the game.
Full marks to Jupp Heynckes for making the correct substitution at the correct time. Bayern knew they needed a win and Jupp took Bastian Schweinsteiger out of the game and put in Thomas Mueller. Bastian had done his job and protected the back-line. He had also provided leadership even though he did play a part in the goal Bayern conceded.
Mueller's introduction added more intent to Bayern's attack. The defence did not look vulnerable as Toni Kroos calmly slotted in next to Luiz Gustavo. Both players played well. While Kroos' performance was much appreciated, I felt that he could have done slightly better on a few occasions considering the brilliant vision he possesses. However, in terms of pressurizing Real and winning the ball back, Kroos was great.
Philipp Lahm and David Alaba helped the Bayern attack to no end. The attack was not exactly on-song on the night as Robben really wasn't at his best and Gomez's link up play was slightly messy. Alaba basically showed that an academy player is much better than a much more expensive alternative, namely Fabio Coentrao. Coentrao has had better days in his career. And one has to appreciate Lahm's cross at the end.
The captain himself actually started the move. He found Ribery who returned the favour. The ball he played in was so good that Bayern had to score! Gomez, who had missed good opportunities on the night, finally found the back of the net with his knee. While Gomez can be criticized for his misses, he did win the battle against Sergio Ramos and Pepe. The heart of the Real defence did manage to ward off Gomez every time he got a chance though. And also, I was quite glad that Gomez tipped his imaginary hat.
Howard Webb overall did not do too badly. Webb denied Bayern a clear penalty when Coentrao smashed into Gomez. The argument is that Ramos cleared the ball, but Coentrao still committed a foul. Webb should have sent off Marcelo for what was a foolish challenge on Mueller who thankfully escaped unhurt. Mueller was nonetheless furious as his reactions on the pitch showed. However, Webb did brandish a yellow card to Gonzalo Higuain for 'imaginary card waving' and he wasn't really fooled by diving from the Madrid players as well as the Bayern players.
The lead gives Bayern a good chance at the Bernabeu. However, keep in mind that most of this Bayern team is young and the atmosphere at the Bernabeu is intimidating. Bayern has been beaten in three of their last seven meetings with Madrid including the previous one which ended 3-2 in Madrid's favour in 2006-07. The Bayern team is nonetheless experienced considering that most of the team plays for the German national side and most of them were also part of the 2009-10 Champions League campaign.
One factor that might help out Bayern is the simple fact that Bayern recently played at the Westfalen. The Westfalen for Bundesliga matches roughly has a capacity of 80,000, while the Bernabeu has a capacity of 85000. Of the current team, five players started the Champions League final in 2010. While the trophy that day was in the Bernabeu, it is currently sitting at the Allianz Arena ahead of the final.
This will be a chance for Bayern to banish memories from that painful day in May in Madrid in 2010. The second leg is still an uphill task though. Madrid is a different proposition at home. As the Cologne tabloid Express put it: "Bayern will hope that Madrid bleed themselves dry this weekend in the Clásico." As much as I hate to say this, utter heart-break might be awaiting Bayern fans on the coming Wednesday but following the first leg, there is reason to hope.
For now, let's just look ahead to the Bremen game which if Bayern wins, guarantees second spot in the Bundesliga. Holger Badstuber is suspended for the game, which gives the young defender much needed rest. Bremen is looking to secure a European spot and many of those are up for grabs this season thanks to the Pokal final being between the top two sides in the league.
Bremen has been depending on their youngsters even more so than usual this season. Werder has fallen away in recent years. Tim Wiese is on his way out of the club after many long years. The reverse fixture ended 4-1 in Bayern's favour with Robben and Ribery scoring two goals each. That day in frustration, Aaron Hunt almost sent Kroos to the hospital, and was duly red carded for a serious challenge; Kroos somehow managed to move away at the right time.
Predicting the line-up has become much more fun since Bayern's title challenge ended. I was wondering whether Neuer might get a rest, but ahead of the second leg, I think Heycnkes will want his keeper to continue stopping shots. So, this is how I think Bayern will line up:
Manuel Neuer
Rafinha—Jerome Boateng—Anatoliy Tymoshchuk—Diego Contento
Bastian Schweinsteiger—Danijel Pranjic
Arjen Robben—Thomas Mueller—David Alaba
Ivica Olic
Expect three out of the four players amongst Ribery, Kroos, Gomez and Lahm to come on during the second half. Amongst those, the first three players will perhaps come on with Lahm getting the full rest.
The question now is: how many players should Heynckes rest? The return leg is after all on Wednesday and not on Tuesday.
Finally, I think Bayern will be held to a draw in this one.
Prediction: Bremen 1-1 Bayern
Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays chicago blackhawks columbus blue jackets detroit red wings
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿