What? Didn't we all agree he lacked drive and acceleration as a CAM? I think the #8 in a 4-3-3 is the ideal position for him.
2 goals and the silky passing is back. Even a treble winning defending champion team needs some confidence boosters.
Maybe for some. He lacks defensive capabilities (tackling, marking, positioning) for my liking. Couple that with a lack of speed and it's a recipe for disaster against the elite sides IMO. A Kroos/Martinez partnership might work. I think Jupp had it right with Schweinsteiger/Martinez.
Good half of football. Could have been better, but I'm not going to complain about 2-0 at HT. Raeder looks much more comfortable today.
Didn't have much to do really. It is evident that the players are instructed not to pass the ball to him
Exactly. I think he is also instructed not to leave the 6 yd. box, never mind the 18 yd box. He's claimed a corner kick and dealt with back headers confidently though. Hopefully he's gotten some confidence back from the easy stuff.
yea for a 4-2-3-1 wide attacking side. That's not what Pep sees or wants to do so I fail to see what this point brings to the conversation. Bayern aren't playing with the same formation this season... are you saying Pep should replicate what Heynckes did and that would be better?
I think with the players that are at Bayern currently what Heynckes did will work better against teams of Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid's caliber than what Guardiola wants to do. Against lesser teams Pep's tactics work fine. With different players it could be a different story.
In Pep's system (and Jupps last season) all players but the CBs and GK are part of the attack, and also have defensive responsibilities. Up to the player to pick his spots and runs to be available further up the pitch as the flow of the match and the play unfolds and dictates... just like his goal vs. Arsenal. Muller and Mario could be so much more lethal working together. Something I think we will see if/when Muller is working with Lewandowski. I still want Bayern to keep Mario so they have 2 quality strikers. Would give Bayern a 4-4-2 option if needed though Mario and Lew play similarly so that would be very rare to go away from a 4 man MF for 2 forwards.
It's sounding like Bayern FO are going to do everything they can to keep Mandzukic and convince him to stay, which is a good thing if they can keep him happy. I agree Muller and Lewandowski sound like they could work together brilliantly. In theory at least.