Four Observations from Bayern Munich’s 3-1 comeback win over FC Köln

Bayern Munich’s game in Köln started in awkward fashion. The game was significantly delayed due to smoke caused by fan displays, and it clearly threw Bayern off their rhythm. Despite the early setback and conceding the first goal, Bayern Munich dug deep and managed to find late goals to beat the Billy Goats.

An embarassing defensive miscue

The first goal of the game wasn’t pretty for the guests. Köln found Bayern lacking some polish in the attacking end and clearly caught Bayern where they were not prepared. Both Jonathan Tah and Kim Min-jae committed to the passing option on a two-on-two situation, and none of the midfielders or attackers were close enough or fast enough to tackle the countering Köln player, Linton Maina, so he took all the space and made Bayern pay for it. It was a terrible strategy by Kim and Tah. It was not clear whether if it was a miscommunication or the defensive plan for the counter-attack, but you can’t give anyone that much time and space, no matter who it is.

If this can happen to a newly promoted side against Bayern, a team like Arsenal will exploit that opportunity every day. One missplay is not enough to hit any panic buttons, but something to keep an eye on for the big matches later on in the season.

Olisé simply struggled in the first half. He was losing possession and missing passes more than he possibly ever has since playing for Bayern. Lucky for fans, Olise is a world-class player and even on his worse days, he can still contribute, setting up Serge Gnabry’s Puskas Goal of the year-worthy candidate.

It was shocking to see Gnabry subbed off over the Frenchman and quite frankly the wrong decision. While Bayern still needed to get some goals at that point, you play the hot hand, otherwise that sends a bad message to the players. Not to mention, Olisé could use some rest, and if it isn’t clicking, don’t force it.

Maybe this was the plan all along, but it was certainly a confusing choice by Vincent Kompany.

One year ago, Kim was a starting defender for Bayern Munich. A lot has changed since then, and Tah has emerged as an elite central defender despite criticism that signing him wouldn’t make a difference to Bayern’s backline.

Kim has basically been forgotten in squad planning, but the South Korea defender was on a mission tonight. Despite the miscommunication or misplay between him and Tah to cause the goal for FC Köln, Kim responded with a big statement. A decisive tackle to stop a second goal, and then going on to score the winner will be a massive boost for his confidence.

While he is still a level behind Tah and Upamecano at the moment, maybe Bayern could still have a use for him moving forward.

This game was never going to be easy. While this might be the weakest Bundesliga field we have seen in recent years, that does not mean every game will be a cakewalk. The Köln away day is a difficult one with serious fan support. It says a lot about this Bayern side that they were able to correct course after a game delay and a deflating first goal conceded.

While last week’s win was a ton of fun, they won’t all be like that, and frankly they don’t need to be. Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible season was full of late wins and the perfect amount of luck. This is the time of the season to extend a lead in the Bundesliga and stay healthy, and if Bayern can do that, then every game will be a major success. While this match looks different from last week, these three points count just as much.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…