Five observations from Bayern Munich’s depressing 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Champions League

Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat in the group or league stages of the Champions League in seven years, losing 1–0 to Aston Villa. Ironically, that original loss also came at the hands of Unai Emery in 2017 when he was at PSG. Tonight’s defeat also ends Bayern’s 18-match scoring streak, dating back to the 2-0 defeat to Dortmund in March.

Bayern dominated possession (70%), but could not get past Aston Villa’s sturdy defense. Bayern return to Germany to take on a dangerous Eintracht Frankfurt team before the international break.

Bad strategy, worse execution

With a much-needed rest, Vincent Kompany opened the match with Jamal Musiala on the bench. Unfortunately, Michael Olise was unable to fill the creative space in the middle as he played passively and failed to unlock Aston Villa’s defence.

Harry Kane and Konrad Laimer spent most of the first half motionless on the Aston Villa backline, but the midfield refused to play the ball to them, through them or close to them. Bayern refused to overload any part of the final third or invade different zones, allowing Aston Villa to make easy gains.

After a quiet first half from Kingsley Coman, Kompany brought on Musiala at half-time, leaving Musiala on an island in the middle of the field. Aston Villa neutralized Musiala by taking turns fouling him far from goal.

Count your lucky stars, Dayot Upamecano

Upamecano was tasked with marking Aston Villa’s dangerous striker Ollie Watkins. Given Bayern’s high profile, this is virtually impossible, and Upamecano has not done himself any favors. In the first half, the Frenchman took Watkins down twice in 1v1 situations.

On the first attempt, Watkins himself stumbled and went down too easily. On the second attempt, Upamecano slipped away with a yellow card. The Frenchman continued his aggressive play and somehow avoided a second yellow card.

In the 79th minute, Upamecano came back slowly and Jhon Durán took advantage, scoring the game winner with a well-placed shot past Manuel Neuer.

Until proven otherwise, this is the blueprint for playing against Bayern

This weekend, Bayer Leverkusen deployed a deep defensive grenade to earn a draw at the Allianz Arena. Unai Emery pressed Ctrl+V and replicated the strategy to perfection. If Kompany’s system is based solely on the opponent making mistakes, quality teams can last 90 minutes at Bayern.

Next up is Eintracht Frankfurt, one of the best counter-attacking teams in Europe. If Bayern don’t make adjustments, this could be a devastating outcome heading into the international break.

The Müller Mafia has an obvious suggestion

Is there a player on the roster right now who excels at creating attacking space out of thin air, who energizes other players on the field and has the experience to back that up?

No, he can’t play 90 minutes every night. Yes, he is in the twilight of his career. But Müller could be the key to unlocking these pesky defensive grenades in the first half, giving the young players more time and space in the second half.

Hats off to Emiliano Martínez

Most fans can’t stand his antics, but the Argentinian goalkeeper always makes big saves. He denied Kolo Muani from forcing penalties at the World Cup. Tonight he produced seven saves. In stoppage time he held off Serge Gnabry from close range and denied Harry Kane’s header to seal the win.