A game of extremes….need to take a balanced view.
Just some of (many) positives:
You can’t ignore the incredible morale, will power and internal unity of this team. Any other top squad in the world – Arsenal, City, Real, Barca, you name it - would have been down and out at 5:2. This Bayern team not only came back, but could have won 6:5 with some luck.
The performance of Tah and Upa was out of this world. Left without much midfield protection, having to compensate for the slowness of Stani and the positional unreliability of Davies, that duo alone was consistently spectacular against a world-class PSG attack. Upa didn’t lose his head this time – elite CB.
Diaz – what a monster. I am wrong most of the time, but never been so wrong as about whether he is worth the money.
Olise – what a player. Made the best LB in the world look average.
But we also can’t overlook the worrisome stuff. If Upa’s header hadn’t gone in soon enough after the 5:2, we were likely headed home with a 2-3 goal deficit and a very different story. The performance between the 20th and the 60th minute was terrible. In those 40 minutes, we conceded 5 goals and narrowly escaped 3 more…mind-blowing. Sure, Kimmich has a part to play as the midfield general, and – perhaps – with an Effe on the pitch, we would have played more wisely. But, regardless of where we lay the blame, the inability (or active refusal?) to adjust to gameflow states, to particular threats, to particular tactics that use elite, speedy forwards…it’s just very worrisome. All that was also on display against Real. Sticking to one’s style and the Mia San Mia mindset are admirable and generally the right thing, but you can’t NOT be worried about what seems to border on irrational stubbornness or naiveite to adapt.
And – as usual – our clinical finishing leaves a lot to be desired. If we could convert just 30-40% more, we could be much more comfortable and confident taking a small step back in situations like after the Kane penalty or the Olise equaliser.
Lastly, I try not to talk about referees….but….I sincerely hope UEFA can come up with a half-credible explanation for the penalty. Based on the current rules, to award it AFTER having looked the video is a stunning disservice to refereering standards in the CL and to the VAR technology.