Bayern Munich defeated Tottenham 3-2 in London to complete the preseason sweep of the Hotspurs. Dayot Upamecano, Serge Gnabry, and Thomas Müller all found the back of the net in the first half.
In the first minute, a comedy of errors from Min-jae Kim, Dayot Upamecano, and Joshua Kimmich resulted in Dejan Kulusevski scoring a tap-in to take the lead. Bayern recovered quickly and went into halftime with a 3-1, thanks to two set piece goals.
In the 61st minute, Tottenham’s quick passing led to Lucas Bergvall slotting in a precision shot. Tottenham failed to find an equalizer and Bayern closed out the game.
A Tale of Two Halves
Both sides treated the first 45 minutes as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming season. After the opening goal, Tottenham’s vertical attack lacked the necessary precision in the final third to score a second goal on Manuel Neuer.
Bayern’s midfield dictated the pace of play and easily maneuvered around the middle of the pitch. Mathys Tel consistently beat Pedro Porro and created a number of dangerous situations in the box. Right before halftime, Tel was fouled on a breakaway, but the resulting free kick produced Thomas Müller’s diving header goal.
The second half was played at a slower pace as the substitutes made their way into the lineup. Neither team wanted to press as high and focused on possession and individual creativity. Not surprising but a lot less entertaining than the first half.
Chemistry issues persist between the center backs
Min-jae Kim and Upamecano tend to form a chaotic duo on the backline, for better or worse. They have the ability to shut down world class strikers but also make mind boggling errors. Today was no different.
In the first minute, both players forgot how their legs work and Bayern found themselves down 1-0. In the 16th minute, Upamecano showed off some insane reflexes to tap in the rebound from Tel’s header.
Upamecano and Kim rooted out a few more attacks from Tottenham, but luckily Tottenham failed to pick out the open man in the box. The pair of defenders will need to get on the same page if they want to produce shutout performances and keep their starting spots.
Intensity levels need to stay up for the full 90 minutes
Granted this was a friendly and there was a lot of rotation, there was a significant drop in quality and speed after halftime. Bayern needs to learn how to maintain the high press if Müller isn’t in the game.
On a positive note, when João Palhinha took a cheap shot in stoppage time, Kingsley Coman immediately sought out the Tottenham player to defend his new teammate.
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