Hello! My first post here. I was just browsing the AC Milan vs Barca game because I'm excited for it when I saw this thread. I really don't have any plans of joining this conversation but I saw some posts that really irks me.
I just want to say, as someone who watches all the games of Bayern, what they showed yesterday was a poor performance. It was not at their best. Sure, they delivered a win and 3 away goals but I know they can do better. There were a lot of mismatched passes and errors in the entire game. Bayern can get more than 3 away goals but they got arrogant and took it easy on the 2nd half.
Franck Ribery, one of their best players in the attack, did not play as good as he does in the Bundesliga. Bayern's strength is in the left wings. When Alaba and Ribery has a good game, they can be deadly. Yesterday, what we saw is mostly a display of Lahm and Mueller on the right. I don't know why.
Manuel Neuer's error is really bad. He should not have left his position and join the mob intercepting the ball. But, this does not mean he is a bad goalkeeper. It's just a mistake in calculation. Besides, Bastian Schweinsteiger was supposed to be marking Podolski but he failed to do that. It irritates me when a GK concedes and people just assume he is overrated. He's arrogant, that's 100% sure, but he turns up in games when Bayern needs him. With Neuer just standing on his box, Bayern defenders already feel calm.
Still, I am not complaining. Despite playing poorly, Bayern still showed class. If you notice, all their players, be it defenders, midfielders or striker, they all contribute to the attack and defense. You can see them marking their assigned men with gusto. Also, they played like a team, defend like a team and scored with a team effort.
If you notice their goals, the Kroos goal was a typical Kroos goal. People will think he got lucky there if they watch Bayern for the first time but no, I've seen him do that before. He's deadly at that pace if you leave him unmark. For the Mueller goal, if you notice in their Chelsea game last season, Bayern was not very good in corners. It was Mueller who scored in the 80th minute in a corner after so many tries before that. This season, in Bundesliga, I can see them trying to remedy that. They now play their strengths and they have better positioning. The Mandzukic goal was also deserved. The build up was great. You can also see the same build up play in their last few games. It's all thanks to Jupp.
I don't know why people assume Bayern got lucky in all 3 goals. If you get a goal once, there's a probability that it's a fluke. But 3 goals are saying a lot. If you play Bayern, you have to be really careful because they have lethal instinct. One small mistake will cause you a goal. Their Bundesliga rivals know that but if you see them play for the first time, it will look really easy and out of the blue.
To that person saying Bayern is overrated, I don't agree. When was Bayern given a recognition this season other than in this game? If they drew someone like Celtic or Malaga, I doubt people will be talking about them. They got lucky here because they drew a PL team. It's not their fault that media continue repeating their statistics which are all facts.
That being said, no matter how good this Bayern side is, their benchmark will always be Barca. You can see that in the interviews of their big bosses. They also respect ManUtd, Juventus and Real Madrid but it's Barca they want to emulate. There's nothing wrong with that. Barca is a model team. But then of course, they will never be Barca. They can become close to Barca but they will still have that German stamp in them.
Ok. I think I've said enough. Sorry, my English is bad.
arty1:
