Four Observations from Bayern Munich’s smooth 4-1 win against Atalanta

Last week, Bayern Munich emulated Julius Caesar’s Veni, Vidi, Vici in a thrilling conquest of Bergamo. Atalanta were humbled by a 6-1 defeat and it seemed as though the Rubicon were crossed. There was certainly no coming back from a loss like that, but Atalanta were certain to come to Munich and put up a fight.

Bayern on the other hand, is slowly recovering from the injury crisis and the nightmare that was their 1-1 draw to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the league. The home fixture was expected to be a youth-run show. While that wasn’t the case, the game still left a lot to learn from. Here are the observations.

Last time, the Rubicon was crossed

It is clear Bayern had nothing to fight for this game — the tie had already been decided in the first leg. The second leg may have been just a formality, but Bayern made sure to play for the fans. The home crowd was well-entertained despite a slower and less intense Bayern side. The trio of Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Lennart Karl made several dangerous moves in and around the box. Kane with a brace this game, scored his 50th Champions League goal and Díaz was absolutely phenomenal, showing a strong involvement, and scoring a goal.

Similarly to Bayern, Atalanta played very differently than the first leg.

Back then, they did not have key players like Charles De Ketelaere, Giacomo Raspadori and Ederson — all of whom were out injured.

They abandoned their man-marking style to focus on more cohesive formations and shapes. They were keen on attacking, but looked unsure and uneasy off the ball. In buildup, they gained more confidence and did show some decent output. However, the Rubicon had already been crossed, the die already cast.

Atalanta, even at their finest, were still no match for Bayern.

A virtue common to most Roman emperors was clemency.

The Battle of Pharsalus was a part of the civil war Caesar had initiated by opposing the Senate. The emperor and his allies were up against Pompey, who was backed heavily by the senators, and hence were supplied with the army of the Roman Republic. The senate was keen on punishing Caesar for his actions and they thought outnumbering his side with the Roman army would work. Unfortunately, the man named after the salad completely annihilated Pompey and co. and let Pompey escape. Such was the virtuosity of Caesar that temples feature him alongside goddess Clementia.

Bayern did perhaps go light on Atalanta for the very same reason. They were no longer aggressively pressing or pushing for goals — they’d chosen to play the game as it transpired. Aleksander Pavlović, Tom Bischof, Lennart Karl and Josip Stanišić — are all players capable of more than they exhibited tonight. Possession numbers remained sky-high and yet, the only aim of this was to keep Atalanta land-locked in their own half till fatigue took over. The defense with Jonathan Tah and Kim Min-Jae was more than capable of shutting down the opposition completely, but chose to take it easy.

Despite said players showing their most laid-back game, the Atalanta attack was still stunted. Clemency prevailed, but just enough to give Atalanta the benefit of dignity and not the chance to turn their tides.

The Roman Republic had to fall

The day March 15, 2069 years ago, was significant — it was the day Caesar was assassinated by Marcus Junius Brutus and his accomplice Cassius. It is often said that Caesar’s death marked the fall of the Roman Republic and lead to the rise of the Roman Empire.

The First Triumvirate under Caesar functioned on trust. The leaders simply trusted one another enough to not overstep boundaries. However, the Second one, which was formed by Caesar’s adoptive son Augustus and two of his Caesar’s allies Mark Antony and Lepidus, functioned very differently. They had managed to split the Roman Republic into areas of governance that each would take up.

Using a hit-list filled with Rome’s wealthiest, the trio managed to murder several aristocrats, take their wealth, and use it to fund their Empire in the making. In this process, they managed to kill the Republic, for the Senate was brutally wiped out, man-by-man in this process. Then, they eliminated Brutus and Cassius who had found refuge in Greece. Now, it was only those three, the ones who could run the show.

But things did not stay that way — Augustus was a clever man. Antony had moved to Egypt. Since Augustus’ voice was the only one that mattered in Rome, he’d painted a picture of a traitor in Mark Antony — a man who clearly wanted to displace Rome and turn Alexandria into the new Rome. This gave him enough support to go into the Battle of Actium a decade later, when Augustus and co. brutally defeated Antony and Cleopatra. Now, Augustus was the only one in charge. The Roman Empire had begun.

Putting the youth in charge of Bayern may seem like the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire — who would want inexperienced kids running the show? Kompany treats every game like it is the biggest, most important fixture, and even in a match like tonight’s game, he did not start any youth. But the Republic was not without its faults, and neither is the senior squad. Depending on older players, most of whom were either only recently injured or are injury prone, is a bad idea.

The Republic was filled to the brim with corruption due to the Senate and Augustus imposing strict taxes and laws, maintaining an iron-fist. The codification of the Roman Law was made by Augustus. He essentially ended a century of civil wars and replaced it with a period of peace that Rome hadn’t seen in a long time.

Just like the Republic and the Empire both had their own pluses and minuses, youth-dependency and senior player dependency have their own contributions. But the change was inevitable in Rome and so is the case in Bayern.

Bayern must learn to embrace the uncertainty of trusting the youth — they can be relied on even if what they bring to the table is rather alien.

Case in point — Pavić and Ofli. Ofli came on much earlier, replacing Raphael Guerreiro. He linked up effortlessly with Lennart Karl and the duo looked extremely dangerous in transitions. The former is very quick and dangerous with his feet. This shifted Bayern’s apparent formation to a 4-3-3, as opposed to the oft-played 4-2-3-1, and yet it never made them a liability.

Pavić came on much later — replacing Josip Stanišić. Unlike Ofli, he chose to play more conservatively. This caused the entire defense to fall back — which again, is rather atypical. Yet it worked.

I am truly excited for the future of Bayern. The youth integration will truly take the club to new heights.

Mark Antony, as stated earlier, was framed to be obsessed with the East. We have our own Mark Antony in Lennart Karl. Spain may not lie east to Germany, but Karl’s certainly very interested in Spain.

The youngster was once regarded as one of the best prospects in Europe and yet, the spark seems to have gone missing too early. Perhaps the weight of public opinion lies heavy on his head — the internet can be a harsh place. Karl is no longer decisive in front of goal, and even his quicker decisions leave a lot to be desired. His inability to cut and shoot makes him a liability simply because of how much of the ball he gets. If he were incapable, he could pass to a better suited player like Díaz; and yet he does not.

Antony’s intelligence and verbose was well-known. It was his speech at Caesar’s funeral that perhaps cemented his position in the Second Triumvirate. Yet, his education only took him so far — he was infamous for his drinking and gambling habits that landed him in deep waters. He landed in debt so deep he escaped to Greece to hide from money collectors.

Similarly, Karl’s talent, though extraordinary, needs to be channelled and utilized well. Arguably, he’s unlikely to take the Mark Antony route that Lamine Yamal finds himself in. However, such instances pose a cautionary tale. Mindset matters a lot and young Karl must understand that his mind needs to be in the game for him to put his talents to full use.

Miscellaneous Observations

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…

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