Vincent Kompany must solve Bayern Munich’s one big weakness

At the end of September I noted that real test Vincent Kompany’s tenure at Bayern Munich was just around the corner.

After drawing 1-1 with last season’s champions Bayer Leverkusen in a game they dominated and should have won, the Belgian side headed to England’s West Midlands to face Aston Villa.

Having suffered a 1-0 defeat thanks to an audacious goal from John Durand, the Bavarians were handed a tough task away from home by Eintracht Frankfurt. Again, they also lost to a 3–3 draw towards the end of the game.

After being thrashed 4-0 by Stuttgart, the worst result of a difficult run was a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

This result raises questions about a coaching change at a club like Bayern Munich, especially for someone as inexperienced as Kompany.

Such suggestions received little response from sporting director Max Eberl, whose short response was: “We believe in what we do and we will continue to defend what we do.”

Speaking on German television after the game, Kompany told a similar story to the one he told after Burnley’s many Premier League defeats.

“We lost, it was a clear defeat. We will stand together and learn from this defeat,” he said.

“The first goal was bittersweet. In the first half I had a feeling for half an hour that we could win. Then the game changed with the second and third goals. But correct analysis will come in a calm state so that we can learn from it.

“I want to make a very accurate analysis. I don’t want to beat around the bush. We did not find a solution in counterattacks and individual play of the three. At crucial moments we were one step too late.

“There are no excuses. The important thing is that we learned from this game. This game will not decide our season. We need to understand why there was such a big difference between the first and second halves.”

Luckily for the Company, the noise coming from the Bayern Munich player’s camp is also positive.

When asked about his current boss, Canada’s flying defender Alphonso Davies was delighted.

“He’s a very brilliant guy,” he replied.

“The way we play now is very intense. He chooses the best team and the best players to put them in a team that is well trained. Every training session is a battle for a starting place. Nothing is guaranteed. The way he speaks to the team is polite but firm. He has ideas and we implement them well.”

Champions League problems

The pressure is easing on Vincent Kompany as things generally go to plan from a Bundesliga perspective.

Bayern have lost points in games they really should have won outright, but the club is top of the Bundesliga on goal difference, ahead of RB Leipzig.

When Bayern have managed it this season, the results have been outrageous, not least the 5-0 thrashing of Bochum at the weekend, which Kompany subsequently noted was not always a happy hunting ground for Bayern.

“We took this game very seriously. We’ve lost here twice in the last three years,” Kompany said.

“I liked that we stayed calm. Bochum were very aggressive, pressed high and had that chance from the start. We remained calm and serious from the first to the last minute.

“This is a good result for us. We want to continue in the same spirit in the Bundesliga. Every time Jamal (Musiala) is in the team, we have something special. But others also performed very well. Jamal has a unique, special personality. We all see it. But it’s always about the team. From my point of view it was a very good performance.”

Midfielder Konrad Laimer echoed his coach’s words, adding that getting rid of the memories of the defeat to Barcelona was crucial.

He said: “We wanted to put the marker back up. It was a very focused and team game. In the end, we deserved to win by as much margin as we did and could have even scored a few more goals.” We know it’s always tough here.”

The defeat in Catalonia, even when combined with the defeat in Birmingham, is significantly mitigated by the new format of the Champions League.

Thanks to the long table of qualifying places, even a single victory for Bayern puts Kompany’s team in a strong position to advance to the next stage.

Of the German giants’ five remaining games, only Paris Saint-Germain pose a significant threat and progress must be made.

The Barcelona humiliation seems less serious in the context of the Catalans’ defeat of Real Madrid by the same scoreline shortly afterwards. But Bayern fans will be concerned that they will drop or drop points in tougher matches this season. This is the single biggest weakness that a manager must address.

The Company’s other results give him time to correct this habit.

However, if this continues into the new year, the faith that athletic director Eberl speaks of may well begin to dry up.