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Bundesliga midseason report card: Bayern Munich

By Jordan Small

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 22: Franck Ribery of Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Muenchen at Commerzbank-Arena on December 22, 2018 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 22: Franck Ribery of Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Muenchen at Commerzbank-Arena on December 22, 2018 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich sits in second place of the Bundesliga standings at the halfway mark. What grade did they get for their performances over the first half of the season?

The Good

The first half of the season was not great for the German side, but that is largely in part due to the success they have had over the years. Usually, by this point in the year, Bayern are running away with the league, making it somewhat of a boring second half of the year. This year they sit in second behind rival Borussia Dortmund.

The good for Bayern is the fact that despite it all, they still sit in second place, just six points out. They are starting to hit their form as of late and as players get healthy, it can only get better from here. There is a very good chance that Bayern can still catch Dortmund, and it will definitely make the second half interesting.

After possible transfer talks before the season failed to work out, Robert Lewandowski has shined once again for the Bavarians. He has 19 goals in just under 2,000 minutes played this year. On top of that, Bayern has four other players who have scored four or more goals. While Lewandowski is dominating up top once again, he is getting scoring help from other players as well. Lewandowski especially has been a bright spot up top to counteract the rough play of the defense.

The Bad

Bayern’s defense this season has been very tough to watch this season. In 17 Bundesliga games this season, Bayern has recorded seven shutouts this season, but there have been games where they have conceded easy goals, especially in the second half that have hurt that mark. A lot of this has to do with Niko Kovac’s inability to find a consistent center back pairing. Niklas Sule has been the most consistent inclusion in the middle, recording 16 games in the Bundesliga this season. Then you have Mats Hummels who has played in just nine games, while Jerome Boateng has played in 11. It is hard to find consistency when there is such heavy rotation between center backs. Injuries haven’t helped, but this is an area to shore up heading into the second half of the season.

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What’s Next?

The 27-time champions are no stranger to winning the Bundesliga title. In fact, they have won it every year since the 2011-12 season. So anything less than first place will feel like a disappointment for this side. While the first half didn’t go quite as planned, things are headed in the right direction. A good, fast start to 2019 will definitely be key to catching Dortmund in the second half. If the defense can shore up their end, count on Lewandowski and the offense to get things done up top.

Grade

B: Not great, but they still are in second place.

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