Bayern Munich Are Starting to Show They Are Human - In Defence at Least

The sight of a goal whizzing past Manuel Neuer is such a rarity that Bayern Munich's number one instinctively raises an arm to protest the figure that has dared to score against him.

However, the famous Reklamierarm - arm of complaint - was replaced by a shriek of frustration as RB Leipzig drilled a trio of goals past Neuer in a helter-skelter 3-3 draw away to Bayern on Saturday.

A brace from the timeless Thomas Muller rescued a point for the hosts but RB Leipzig were causing havoc with Bayern's infamously high line. Both Christopher Nkunku and Justin Kluivert were able to stay onside while some of Bayern's defenders stepped up and others dropped back in haphazard fashion for Leipzig's two goals in the first half. Three minutes after the interval Emil Forsberg was criminally unmarked six yards out, between the posts, for RB's third.

After the match Bayern's manager Hansi Flick addressed the issues raised, saying: “It was a wild game, both teams were not at 100% at the back," as quoted by Bayern's official website. "We conceded some avoidable goals, our structure wasn't right.”

However, Neuer highlighted that Leipzig are not the first side to pose difficult questions for the reigning champions (of everything), lamenting: “We've conceded too many goals this season. That's annoying, we must work on that, on turnovers and positional play."

In Bayern's last nine league games, they've let in a scarcely believable 16 goals - as many as the Bavarians conceded in their previous 25 Bundesliga matches under Flick.

A closer inspection of Bayern's underlying numbers reveals that the reigning champions rank 12th (twelfth!) in the top flight for non-penalty expected goals (xG) conceded this term, according to FBRef. After topping this particular metric last season, Bayern are giving up chances a lower mid-table side would expect this term.

Bayern aren’t offering up many opportunities for their opponents - they rank fifth for shots conceded per game with ten - but the efforts they do allow are of a worryingly high quality. Only mid-table Hoffenheim have conceded higher xG per shot this season.

Giving up high quality chances is a professional hazard for high pressing sides - on the occasions a team breaks through the pressure, there aren't many obstacles between them and the goal. However, this term has represented a sizeable drop off for Bayern compared to last season (an increase of xG per shot conceded from 0.10 to 0.14).

By some way of explanation, Flick added after the Leipzig game: “It's also down to the many changes we're forced to make at the moment.”

Due to a spate of injuries throughout the team, Flick has been forced to break up the rock-solid defensive quartet of Benjamin Pavard and Alphonso Davies either side of Jerome Boateng and David Alaba at centre-back on numerous occasions. Three of those four started against Leipzig on Saturday but the minor alterations proved significant.

The loss of the jet-heeled Davies robs Bayern of the recovery speed he used so well to miraculously surge back and halt the few opponents that timed their runs perfectly last season. By shifting Alaba out to left-back, Bayern were left with the talented, but decidedly less mobile duo of Boateng and Niklas Sule.

Bayern’s relentless press is build upon precise coordination throughout the team and the loss of midfielder Joshua Kimmich cannot be understated. A player who was valued highly when he was on the pitch, has had his reputation enhanced even further after his spell on the sidelines. Kimmich picked up his injury against Borussia Dortmund, in a game which started an intriguing run of worrying form for the Bavarians, at least under the surface.

The official record books will show that Bayern beat Dortmund 3-2 on Saturday, 7 November. However, Dortmund actually recorded almost twice the xG Bayern could muster (2.0 to 1.1), suggesting that, as they created significantly better chances, BVB can feel unlucky not to have claimed all three points, let alone lost.

However, this was not a one-off blip. Bayern have since registered a lower xG - i.e. carved out chances of lower quality - than their opponents in their last six games across the Bundesliga and Champions League. Admittedly, some of the tallies have been close in that time, but Bayern went their first 31 games under Flick in the league and Europe comfortably out-creating their opponents.

Yet, despite their underlying figures, Bayern remain undefeated in this sequence, thanks largely to their elite attack and the wayward efforts of their opponents. (Though they have dropped points in consecutive matches for only the second time since Flick took over, drawing with Atletico Madrid before Leipzig on the weekend.)

Now, 54 games into his tenure as Bayern manager, Flick has collected more trophies (five) than defeats (three). So, let's not blow things out of proportion. Even after this relatively sticky patch, Bayern remain top of the Bundesliga and their Champions League group.

These bottom-half defensive numbers are eyebrow raising but Flick is not one to rest on his laurels, as he reminded his squad and others with a telling expression earlier in the season: “Success can’t be bought. It’s rented. And every day the rent is due.”