FC Bayern let a potential Champions League victory slip away in their 3-3 draw against Viking Stavanger. After a weak first half, the Munich team turned a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead. But Michael Olise’s red card threw Vincent Kompany’s team off their game. Along with the Frenchman, the Bayern coach will also have to face tough questions.
Until Olise received a yellow-red card in the 74th minute, Bayern had clearly dominated the game after the break. Stavanger looked increasingly exhausted and could barely counter Munich’s offensive pressure.
After the red card, however, Kompany fundamentally changed his tactical approach.
Kompany Shifts to a Defensive Approach After Olise’s Red Card
The Belgian responded to being a man down with defensive substitutions. First, he brought on Josip Stanisic for Luis Díaz; shortly afterward, Hiroki Ito replaced the more attacking Ismael Saibari.
As a result, the final stages saw six defensive players, two central midfielders, and Harry Kane on the field.
A perfectly understandable reaction given the narrow lead. However, the question arises as to whether Kompany sacrificed too much offensive quality in the process.
After all, even with ten players, Bayern’s individual talent was clearly superior to that of the hosts.
Bayern lacked support up front
Due to the substitutions, the Munich team lacked fast attacking players who could have provided relief on counterattacks.
Instead of continuing to put pressure on Stavanger, the record champions increasingly focused on defending their narrow lead.
The risk of such an approach is obvious: Without their own counterattacks to relieve pressure, the likelihood increases that the opponent will repeatedly create dangerous situations.
In stoppage time, Bayern were finally punished. Herman Haugen scored the equalizer to make it 3–3.
Notably, after conceding the goal, Munich became more active offensively again and even had a chance to score the winning goal.
Whether a bolder approach would have prevented the loss of a point remains a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, one might question whether Kompany found the right balance between defensive stability and offensive relief with his substitutions.