After their record-breaking run of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles was brought to a dramatic halt by the invincible Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24, Bayern Munich found themselves in the very unfamiliar position of starting a season without being clear title favourites. Nevertheless, new head coach Vincent Kompany seems to have brought them back on the right track in the early days of his tenure.
By Neel Shelat
Bayern Munich have lost just one of their ten competitive matches so far this season and find themselves back at the top of the Bundesliga standings after an extremely surprising trophyless 2023/24 campaign. New head coach Vincent Kompany seems to have had an instant impact which few anticipated at the time of his arrival from Burnley, though he did have a promising track record in charge of league-leading teams.
At the current rate, Bayern are on course to win the league fairly comfortably. While they are level on points with RB Leipzig at the moment, the underlying numbers already show that they are a cut above the rest.
So, let us take a look at how Kompany has brought Bayern Munich right back to where they expect to be.
Star-studded squad
Before diving into the tactics, it is worth emphasising the fact that Bayern Munich still have by far the best squad in the Bundesliga. Their drop to third place last season was a clear underperformance, but it stemmed from tactical and structural issues more than anything else. Crucially, Die Roten had absolutely no problems holding on to their stars in the summer, and they even managed to make a couple of noteworthy additions.
The defensive department is perhaps the weakest relative to the rest of the squad, but it is by no means shabby. Manuel Neuer remains an exceptionally well-rounded goalkeeper despite his age and injury issues, while Sven Ulreich is a very well tried and tested backup. Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano, Eric Dier and Hiroki Ito are sufficiently solid centre-back options if nothing else – certainly when compared to their peers around Germany. Alphonso Davies and Sacha Boey are a pair of good attack-minded full-backs, while the versatile skillsets of Raphaël Guerreiro and Josip Stanišić can afford a good deal of flexibility in terms of build-up structures.
Defensive midfield was one of the pain points for Bayern last season, but it seems to have been internally resolved. Aleksandar Pavlović, arguably among the very best young talents in world football at the moment, has slotted into a regular first-team role at the perfect time. His exceptional maturity and understanding of the game mean that he can be partnered by anyone from Joshua Kimmich to João Palhinha. The €50 million or so spent on the latter might seem a bit excessive at the moment, though his presence should prove valuable at times like this when Pavlović is unavailable.
Further up the field, a couple of other youngsters have shone brightest in Bayern’s attack. Jamal Musiala is a well-established attacking midfielder now with over 170 appearances for his club, which makes it easy to forget that he is still only 21 years old. Alongside him, summer signing Michael Olise has instantly showcased his outstanding on-ball qualities and registered six goal involvements in the league so far. Besides them, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané are all potent wingers who the other young talents can learn from. The experience of Thomas Müller can also prove valuable in certain fixtures, while Harry Kane remains a world-class striker as evidenced by his hat-trick last weekend.
Dominant style of play reimposed
One of the issues for Bayern Munich last season was that they could get too rushed too quickly in possession. The pressure of Bayer Leverkusen’s title challengers and their inexperience as chasers seemed to get the better of them, as the record champions failed to finish the season with the highest possession average for the first time since FotMob has been keeping records.
In the early days of the new season, Bayern have gotten right back on track. They have averaged nearly 70% of possession after seven league fixtures as Kompany has made the most of the versatile ball-players in his squad to devise a fluid build-up structure that has been uncluttered by all opposition presses so far.
In fact, Bayern have even dominated proceedings in all the three matches they have failed to win so far this season, so it was only their lack of clinicality in front of goal that has cost them. Unlike last season, contenders in the Bundesliga have not at all been able to go toe-to-toe with the record champions.
For the most part, Bayern’s attack has been on fire as well. The flexible build-up structure has enabled them to consistently feed their attackers in dangerous positions, from where their individual qualities can shine through. Kompany’s side handed out a few thrashings in September as they hit Holstein Kiel for six, smashed nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener and scored five at Werder Bremen.
Such dominance naturally means that Bayern’s defence is hardly even tested, so they have the lowest xG conceded tally in the league by some margin. In fact, all potential challengers in the league such as Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Stuttgart have not been at their very best in the early days of the season, so Die Roten could well cruise through the campaign without really being troubled.
If they manage to build up a significant points lead by the turn of the year, Bayern will be able to prioritise the Champions League knockouts more than most of their rivals. The only real question mark is how well their defence will hold up against the best sides in Europe, and we should get some idea about that when they face the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in the next month. Either way, Kompany’s side are absolutely on course to challenge for titles on all fronts once again.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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