The new Bayern Munich, which started the Bundesliga with three consecutive wins and 15 goals in three games after having scored five against Leipzig in the Super Cup, seems to be taking advantage of a new dynamic that some relate to the departure of Robert Lewandowski.
If when the agreement with Barcelona was closed for many the question was how Bayern could compensate for the departure of the Pole, now many debates aim to show what has been gained with it.
After the first game against Eintracht, which ended in a 6-1 victory, an old club legend, Philipp Lahm, was still somewhat skeptical.
“Today Robert has not been necessary. But you have to wait. 40 goals per season is not something that is easily compensated for,” Lahm told the Second German Television Network (ZDF) after that match.
Now, two games and nine goals later, another legend, Giovane Elber, talks about how Bayern seems “liberated” from Lewandowski.
“After the departure of Robert Lewandowski, many wondered how Bayern would solve the offensive problem. But (coach) Julian Nagelsmann has found a good formula,” Elber told the t-online portal.
With Sadio Mané and Serge Gnabry playing up front and other players -Thomas Müller, Jamal Musiala or Leroy Sané- constantly coming into the area from midfield, Bayern, according to Elber, has become “more variable”.
The 4-2-3-1, with which Bayern played since the days of Louis van Gaal, has been replaced by a 4-2-2-2 with great flexibility and permanent rotations.
“I think the team feels liberated without Lewandowski. He plays football for him. Everyone knows what they have to do,” he explained.
“Musiala has also been freed. He mixes well with the others and no one gets mad when he tries something solo and it doesn’t work out and he misses the ball,” he added.
Nagelsmann, after the departure of Lewandowski, has changed the offensive system, giving up a classic center forward and opting for several rotating false nines.
The four forwards – Müller, Musiala, Gnabry and Mané in the first two games and in the last Coman and Sané instead of Gnabry and Musiala – do not have fixed positions and rotate permanently.
“When there are three or four players looking for the area, you are naturally more flexible when it comes to passing. You have more possible variants, ”explained Bayern midfielder and strategist Joshua Kimmich.
Nagelsmann, for his part, sees a new “energy” in the team and a cohesion in the group that was not always present last season.
“Everyone is happy about what other people get,” he said.
The Munich newspaper “tz” has interpreted Kimmich’s and Nagelsmann’s statements as an indirect criticism of Lewandowski after his departure to Barcelona.
“Sportbild” magazine columnist Raimund Hinko – his weekly column is dedicated to Bayern – has joked that the new system endangers Bayern’s DNA because it is no longer approached from the flanks, through wingers like Franck Ribery or Arjen Robben whose centers were looking for Mario Mandzukic or Lewandowski.
However, Hinko then suggests that it is a return to basics and recalls a phrase by Franz Beckenbauer that he used to constantly remind himself that “the goal is in the middle”.
The occupation of the area with many players in a position to finish off was already one of the hallmarks of Nagelsmann’s Bayern last season. Lewandowski may have felt at times that his teammates were encroaching on his turf.
Now, without the Pole, the occupation of the area is even more important.
The rivals, until now, have tried to banish Bayern to the bands. They have not succeeded.
However, it is clear that to confirm the excellent sensations, Bayern still needs to go through tougher tests and the true dimension of the team will only be seen when the Champions League begins to be played. Maybe even just from the round of 16 matches.
