Bayern Munich's Saturday evening in Wolfsburg was both predictable and extraordinary. Even more talking points emerged after the final whistle.
Bayern Munich 's Saturday-night trip to Wolfsburg proved both familiar and remarkable. The story even developed further once the final whistle had blown. Following a run of high-scoring matches, FC Bayern Munich kept a clean sheet in their hard-fought victory at VfL Wolfsburg .
The champions owed their shutout to goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, whose crucial saves kept them level at half-time. The hosts, who are fighting relegation, carved out several clear chances in the opening 45 minutes. When asked about the reasons for the team's current defensive frailty, youngster Tom Bischof was surprisingly forthcoming in his comments toafter the 1–0 win: "It's always bad when you concede so many goals and face so many chances.
I've watched a few games from the sidelines recently, and the basics of the counter-press—closing down the opposition immediately after losing the ball—have been missing.
" Moments later he added, "I haven't been on the pitch in recent weeks, so I've observed this from the sidelines. Because of that, we're covering unnecessary distances. When we press quickly, we score plenty of goals; unfortunately, we've also been conceding too many.
" His remarks come across as refreshingly honest and self-assured. Yet it is surprising that a 20-year-old, still on the fringes of the first team, would voice such criticism so publicly in his first season at Bayern—especially since he had been sidelined for four weeks with a torn muscle fibre, making his return in Wolfsburg after two full matches on the bench.
So when Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was asked whether Bischof's critique was spot-on, he grinned broadly before delivering a firm verdict: "No, of course not. He is a young player and made a mistake in that interview.
" Unusual words, considering that public criticism of his players is normally taboo for Kompany. But it was the manner of his reaction that provided further proof of where, alongside the achievements attributable to him purely in footballing terms during his time at Säbener Straße so far, one of the Belgian's greatest strengths lies: He has a knack for striking the right tone in his interpersonal dealings with players, even in awkward moments—a skill that puts him ahead of most managers and one that is hard to learn.
His response to Bischof's remarkable interview was corrective, not condescending, firm yet free of drama. He simply brushed it off with a grin. When he refuted the player's view with his own, he did so calmly: "The problem isn't a lack of willingness to counter-press; you can't win games that way. The point is that you don't always have to decide games in the first ten or 15 minutes.
That doesn't always work. We started well for ten minutes, then lost our patience. You can go into counter-pressing once, twice or three times, but at some point your legs start to feel it. I think we did much better in the second half, and that was down to our behaviour when in possession.
" In short, there was no need to keep reverting to the counter-press because the ball stayed in Bayern ranks for longer. It's hard to put into words, but all the more palpable on an emotional level: what makes Kompany so strong in such situations. Just imagine if his Bayern Munich predecessors, Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, had been directly confronted with a player's criticism of their own style of play.
It's easy to imagine they would have got their fingers burnt. Not necessarily on the merits, but because they sometimes lack Kompany's calm coherence.
"Tom is a great lad. But it's straight after the match and I had a bit more perspective," the FCB coach added. Bang—issue resolved. That response—both predictable and unusual—mirrored Bayern's entire evening at the sold-out Volkswagen Arena.
Having sewn up the league title long ago and still smarting from their Champions League exit three days earlier, Bayern were always likely to lack inspiration in Wolfsburg. Yet the manner in which 16th-placed VfL unsettled the side widely regarded as Europe's second-best outfit was still remarkable.
"They could have scored five goals; that wasn't good at all from us," Bischof said after the first half. "The first ten minutes were still okay; we saw how we could create chances, but then we simply didn't carry on like that. " Instead, Wolfsburg kept threatening the Munich goal, yet the outstanding Urbig was equal to every effort. "The way Manu saves whenever he gets the chance is brutal," Bischof said, praising his keeper. Bayern rarely threatened the Wolves, who defended tightly. Harry Kane had the clearest chance from the penalty spot, but he slipped as he struck his 36th-minute attempt and saw the ball sail wide. Such misses are rare: it was Kane's first Bundesliga penalty failure in 25 attempts.
Still, the odd slip-up is inevitable.
"With Harry, you're usually certain he'll score, but even he's allowed to miss once in a while," noted Bischof. Having already posted lacklustre first halves in their two Bundesliga outings since sealing the title on 19 April—4-3 at Mainz 05 and 3-3 against Heidenheim—Bayern showed little improvement against the Wolves. The difference: this time there was no clash with Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon, so Kompany did not rotate the squad as heavily.
Kane, Michael Olise and Joshua Kimmich—the three most important outfield players—all started, unlike against Mainz and Heidenheim. With little going right, the mood in the dressing room was understandably sour. Yet, as in Mainz and against Heidenheim, a significant improvement materialised after the break—both predictable and remarkable.
"I also paid tribute to the team for their reaction. It's not easy to come out and practically turn everything around. We did that again today in the second half," praised Kompany. Opposing manager Dieter Hecking agreed.
"What his counterpart has achieved with Bayern this season is on another level. Of course there are more people involved than just Vincent, but you have to congratulate Bayern on the performances they deliver week in, week out. Even today, it's not a given that, after such a defeat , they would keep the pressure on us so high and give it their all to still win this match.
That's worthy of a compliment," said Hecking. Getty Images SportBayern looked much more incisive after the break, stifling Wolfsburg and barely giving the home side a moment's respite. Goal-scoring opportunities became regular, and the logical consequence was Olise's stunning winner .
The sequence was both predictable and extraordinary: Olise drifted inside from the right, curled a powerful left-foot shot into the far corner, and watched the ball nestle neatly into the net—a trademark strike that has become almost routine for the exceptional talent.
"Michael has set the bar so high for himself that I would have been disappointed if it hadn't gone in – and that's absurd. It shouldn't be normal, but he's got us used to it," Kompany noted back in late April, when Olise had already pulled off his trademark move in Mainz. By repeating the trick in Wolfsburg, Bayern had something to celebrate just 72 hours after their exit against PSG.
The champions will celebrate their 35th Bundesliga title in front of their home fans next Saturday after the final-day clash with 1. FC Köln, then travel to Berlin a week later to face VfB Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final. If they were to lose and miss out on the domestic double, would the season be a disappointment with just one title to show for it? Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl was asked this byahead of the match in Wolfsburg.
"The way we play, we're German champions, we reached the Champions League semi-finals and were on a par with the best team in Europe. We're also in our first cup final in years, and we want to win it," Eberl insisted, describing the campaign as "a very, very good season so far". He also stressed, "Another soft fact is this: how many people rave about how much fun it is to watch Bayern games.
They've never been Bayern fans, but they enjoy watching us because it's the sort of football you want to see. You don't get a trophy for that, but it counts too. "
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