Vincent Kompany’s perfect start to life as Bayern Munich manager was ended with Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena, but his side put forth a performance that was quite arguably deserving of maximum points.
Robert Andrich’s sublime volley put Die Werkself in front in the 31st minute against the run of play, but it didn’t take Bayern too long to equalize through a sensational long-range volley from Aleksandar Pavlović. The effort from the midfielder was indicative of Bayern’s overall performance on the night, but they just could not find a way to score their second goal despite out-shooting Leverkusen 18-3. Serge Gnabry came ever so close at the start of the second half when he struck the post with a left-footed effort from a Harry Kane cross and his rebound attempt struck the crossbar. Due to Bayern’s dominance, it felt more like points dropped than a point earned, but there performance was refreshing enough nonetheless.
After that match, keeper Manuel Neuer spoke about how the overall performance on the heels of how Bayern has been playing so far this season should give them every bit of confidence pushing onward. “We have confidence back again. No matter which team we’re playing against, even against Leverkusen. We’re sticking to our style, we’ve been dominant. That’s something different than before. The sense of certainty that Kompany gives each individual player is noticeable on the pitch, the connection we have. We’re playing as a team,” he explained to Bild (via @iMiaSanMia).
On paper, Leverkusen was, without a trace of doubt, the toughest test yet for Kompany and Bayern this season, even though the reigning Bundesliga champions have already had a slip-up in the league by virtue of a 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig. Tougher tests will continue to come for Bayern, too. In the span of the rest of the month, they have matches against Aston Villa, Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and Barcelona, arguably trickier opponents than the likes of Werder Bremen, Holstein Kiel, Dinamo Zagreb, SC Freiburg, VfL Wolfsburg, and SSV Ulm.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen? Then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we cover everything from the starting XI selections, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, observations from the match, and where things go from here. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
