Bayern Munich Remain First But Must Switch Off Complacency Ahead Of PSG Fixture

Bayern Munich is keeping pace with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table ahead of the season-defining clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. The Rekordmeister beat VfB Stuttgart 2-1 thanks to goals by Matthijs de Ligt (39’) and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (62’). Stuttgart, however, kept it tight and almost mounted a comeback after Juan Jose Perea scored late (88’).

“After going 2-0 up, we had several counterattacks that we didn’t finish well,” Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann said after the game. “We had the game under control, but if you concede a goal late on, things get tight again. We must finish our chances more seriously and go for the third goal; then we’d kill it off.”

It is a situation that was somewhat reminiscent of the first leg against PSG, where Bayern Munich won thanks to a single goal by the excellent Kingsley Coman. But even though Bayern won the PSG game, German champions struggled in the final 15 minutes and were ultimate fortunate to walk away with a win.

That sort of complacency has been one of two trademarks whenever Bayern struggled. One risk factor has been failing to score goals early and then finishing opponents off. The other risk factor has been allowing teams to get back into games that seem done and dusted.

Ultimately, Stuttgart lacked the quality to come back and win a point. The same cannot be said about PSG. “We’re happy, we won and we’re top of the table again,” Bayern forward Thomas Müller said to Sky after the game. “When FC Bayern is up there, I always have a good feeling. The fact that the game got tight at the end is maybe a good test for the Champions League game against PSG.”

Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka, in the meantime, urged his teammates to take the Stuttgart game as a warning shot. “We made a few mistakes after going 2-0 up,” Goretzka said to kicker reporter Georg Holzner after the game. “The opponent didn’t believe they could get something out of the game after going 2-0 down. We have to act accordingly, we didn’t manage to do that in the last 15 minutes.”

The last 15 minutes then again, like it was the case against PSG in the first leg. The Parisians will have certainly watched Bayern’s performance against Stuttgart and come to the conclusion that the Bavarians can be beat at the Allianz Arena.

In fact, PSG star striker Kylian Mbappé has declared that his team is the favorites to win. That is the sort of language Bayern do understand and Goretzka was quick to retort the statement by Mbappé. “The same goes for us,” Goretzka said.

Two favorites then as Bayern will try to hold on to their slender lead and move on to the quarterfinal. It is the all defining game for the Rekordmeister as an early exit from the Champions League would mark this season as a disappointment. Games like the one against Stuttgart are a warning, Bayern is very good but cannot switch off at all.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth