Change? Everything stays the same at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich kicked off their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim and there were some familiar names on the scoresheet.

Niko Kovac already had the job. In April, it was announced he was going take over for the retiring Jupp Heynckes as Bayern Munich’s next manager. Kovac didn’t need to impress Bayern president Uli Hoeness or anyone else at the club any further. But like the winner of the school talent show who also wants to show off his stellar report card to everyone, Kovac went ahead and beat his future employers in the DFB-Pokal final anyway.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-1 victory over Bayern this past May was an impressive, but ultimately unnecessary (as far as Bayern were concerned) display of Kovac’s managerial prowess. Besides, a tactical approach that only allows for 23 percent possession of the ball (which was the meager amount of possession Eintracht saw in the final) isn’t exactly going to satiate the frothing masses at the Allianz Arena, who expect, not hope, for complete, suffocating domination of the opposition.

What worked for Kovac at Eintracht (energetic, aggressive pressing) isn’t necessarily a logical blueprint for him to follow at Bayern. For one, it’s hard to get much pressing done when you have the ball all the time, and Bayern (at least in league play) pretty much always have the ball. Also, several of Bayern’s key players find themselves at ages where “energetic” is just about the last word you’d expect them to want to hear. Robert Lewandowski just turned 30. Arjen Robben eclipsed that mark four years ago. And Franck Ribery, despite the number seven shaved into the side of his head, is a 35-year-old adult.

Kovac’s first Bundesliga match in charge of Bayern came on Friday against Hoffenheim. There are easier ways to kick off a league campaign. Thirty-one-year-old manager Julian Nagelsmann (what were you doing when you were 31?) has guided Hoffenheim to back-to-back top four finishes and has turned heads for both his tactics and his stellar man-management. Specifically, he’s turned the heads of the decision makers at RB Leipzig, who announced in June that Nagelsmann is going be their manager starting next season.

Despite Hoffenheim’s recent success, Nagelsmann’s pending departure does perhaps give the feeling that the club’s best days may be behind them. Also contributing to that feeling is Hoffenheim’s loss of a couple of key attacking players. Serge Gnabry’s loan spell ended and he’s returned to Bayern. And Mark Uth, the club’s leading goalscorer last season, has departed for Schalke. A lack of offensive punch was noticeable against Bayern.

Hoffenheim played in a vertically compact 3-5-2 formation. Their two forwards, Adam Szalai and Joelinton, looked for opportunities to press Bayern’s center-backs and disrupt their buildup play. When a pass was mishit by Bayern in their own half, Hoffenheim’s front two would pounce. When they did gain control of the ball, however, Hoffenheim were unconvincing.

Nagelsmann generally doesn’t want his team to surge forward when winning the ball and instead likes his players to maintain possession for a bit with horizontal passing before attacking. That’s fine when you have attacking players capable of causing problems for a settled defense, but Hoffenheim’s best attacking players from last season are now playing elsewhere. Per Understat, Hoffenheim could only muster a measly 0.7 expected goals in the match.

With Hoffenheim adopting an aggressive defensive posture, Thiago (operating in a double pivot with Javi Martinez) on several occasions sought to play long passes forward over the top of Hoffenheim’s high back line. The most dangerous recipient of Thiago’s passes was right-winger, Kingsley Coman, and the four fouls he drew in just the first half alone, per WhoScored, were reflective of the trouble he was causing. In the 23rd minute, one of those fouls provided the free-kick which led directly to the corner that gave Thomas Muller and Bayern the first goal of the match.

Coman was only able to draw fouls for one half because the fourth of those four fouls was especially nasty. Hoffenheim midfielder Nico Schulz, struggling to keep up with Coman’s pace as halftime was drawing near, lunged out and made a wild challenge, rolling over on the Frenchman’s ankle. Coman couldn’t continue, and Robben was subbed on.

Minus Coman’s pace, Bayern struggled to trouble Hoffenheim’s defense. For large stretches of the second half, Robben and Ribery failed to make an impression down the flanks. This was particularly worrisome for the Bavarians because Hoffenheim, after subbing on the lively Steven Zuber for Vincenzo Grifo, began to control the center of the pitch. Javi Martinez had difficulty dealing with Hoffenheim’s intensity (he was only able to complete 35 passes in the match, per WhoScored), and it was he who had a poor touch which allowed Szalai to knock home Hoffenheim’s equalizer in the 57th minute.

With a new manager and a squad containing several aging veterans and several talented youngsters, much of the preseason conversation that’s swirled around Bayern has centered around change. How will the six-time Bundesliga champions evolve? To advance to their first Champions League final since 2013, a shift in approach for Bayern could well be necessary. Domestically, however, it seems as though simply having more talent than everyone else will continue to suffice.

As the second half went on, Hoffenheim failed to carve out genuine chances and their valiant play ultimately lacked potency in the final third. Bayern’s play may have been dodgy in other areas, but the final third is where they still excel. Ribery won a (controversial) penalty as the match was nearing the 80th minute that Lewandowski converted and Robben put the match to bed in the 90th minute with a goal of his own. Bayern’s goalscorers on Friday: Muller, Lewandowski, and Robben. The world around us changes, but Bayern (for better and worse) stay the same.