The reasons for Julian Nagelsmann’s almost perfect start

Six wins in seven competitive games, including the undisputed triumph in the Supercup against BVB (3: 1) and the exclamation marks in Leipzig (4: 1) and Barcelona (3: 0): Julian Nagelsmann got off to an almost perfect start with Bayern . What are the reasons for that?

1. Bayern coach Nagelsmann does not overwhelm his players

New coach, new tactical elements. The cerebral revolutionary that many saw in him, however, is not yet Hansi Flick’s successor. On the one hand, given the tight schedule with a number of regenerative training units between the individual games, there is simply no time to learn new things. On the other hand, Nagelsmann is aware that he has taken over a basically functioning team. He therefore does not make the mistake of overloading them with compulsive adjustments.

There was little to be seen this year of his system with a three-man or five-man chain, practiced in Hoffenheim and Leipzig, only in the second Bundesliga game against Cologne did the Munich team step with a clear three-man chain consisting of Niklas Süle, Dayot Upamecano and Tanguy Nianzou, including two track players ( Alphonso Davies on the left, Leroy Sane on the right). An experiment that Nagelsmann rejected at half time, because Sane felt visibly uncomfortable in this role and was more in the back than in the front.

Otherwise, it remained largely the same as the tried and tested 4-2-3-1 in all games, which Flick also relied on. The three-man build-up, which we saw every now and then, especially last weekend in Leipzig, which primarily aims to bring Davies into a more offensive zone, was sometimes already present at Flick times – as was the requirement to press up and after losing the ball to follow up directly.

Nagelsmann demands the latter a bit more than Flick, focusing on counter-pressing and general positional play, especially with video analyzes. For established actors like Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller or Joshua Kimmich, this is certainly nothing new, they should feel a little reminded of Pep Guardiola these days.

“In the end, it’s not about Nagelsmann football,” says the new coach. The team finally won eight titles in two years with their style of play. The main focus is on playing “Bayern football” – and that should be “successful”. After the first six competitive games, it can at least be said that the defensive has stabilized significantly compared to last season. And that Nagelsmann did everything right to move Sane from the right to the left wing. A clever move that Flick rarely or never saw in Munich.

2. Nagelsmann’s squad: No problem children, many alternatives

From the regular players or those who at least have ambitions for a regular place, Nagelsmann no longer has any problem children in his squad after Sane’s latest breakthrough. Niklas Süle and Serge Gnabry also left their form problems apparent at the EM behind them.

After the short and bumpy preparation, at least 15 players are moving much earlier than expected, on a good physical, mental and playful level. On the one hand, this makes it more difficult for the coaching team to commit to an eleven, but on the other hand, it also makes it easier to control the load.

In Barcelona, ​​for example, Süle and Jamal Musiala rotated into the starting line-up for Lucas Hernandez and Gnabry, and there was no discernible difference in quality. It speaks for the now very good depth of the squad that players like Tanguy Nianzou, Marc Roca or Marcel Sabitzer, who recently came from Leipzig, have only played briefly or not at all – and Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso’s susceptibility to injury is not at all Weight falls.

3. The semi-new Bayern axis works under Nagelsmann

If FC Bayern has something distinguished in the triple year 2020, it is its stable axis. Now David Alaba and Jerome Boateng broke away from this, but the newly formed defense around the newcomer Dayot Upamecano, who is particularly outstanding in terms of tackling, proves impressively in the first weeks of the season that nobody has to mourn the two Bayern veterans in terms of sport.

Joshua Kimmich in particular proves to be a reliable constant in midfield. All the better from Bayern’s point of view that in addition to his contract extension, the contractual situation of his neighbor Leon Goretzka has now also been clarified. And in front? The long-time veterans named Müller and Lewandowski, who have been indispensable for years, continue to deliver consistently. This was also the case on Tuesday evening in Barcelona, ​​when Müller scored the 1-0 after 34 minutes and Lewandowski added a brace in the second round.

“I’m incredibly happy to have them both on my team,” said Nagelsmann. “Thomas is like an assistant coach who passes things on on the pitch. And at Lewy you can see his greed every day. It is no coincidence that he scores so many goals. His life is geared towards being a professional athlete.” A blessing for FC Bayern.

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