LATEST: Bayern Champions League defeat went stale against Villa’s parked bus

For the second match in a row, Bayern Munich faced a formidable opponent who sat deep in defense to narrow down Bayern’s attacking spaces. The approach worked as Aston Villa kept the clean sheet behind seven saves from Emiliano Martínez.

Until this week, Bayern’s high-flying offense flourished under Vincent Kompany. There has been creativity on the ball and constant movement off the ball. But against Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, both of those attributes vanished.

“In the first half, we had control for 15 or 20 minutes without being able to push them back much,” said Bayern director of sport Max Eberl (via @iMiaSanMia). “We weren’t 100% active off the ball today. In the second half, we did better without creating any great scoring chances. We were more active. The goal we conceded wasn’t really a scoring chance. After we went behind, we reacted and had two more chances through Serge [Gnabry] and Harry [Kane]. You mustn’t lose the game. We have to learn from it because we can’t win at this level without giving 100%. We didn’t manage to take advantage of our few chances. We knew that the stakes were high here.”

Eberl is absolutely correct in his analysis. Given the possession differential, Bayern must figure out a way to create meaningful chances and be clinical in finishing those chances.

Looking for a recap of the Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Aston Villa, along with some additional thoughts and analysis? Awesome, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works