Why Mario Gotze Is Under Most Pressure for Bayern Munich After SC Paderborn Game

Bayern Munich romped to another famous win on Saturday when they made the trip to Paderborn and overcame their Bundesliga opponents by a score of 6-0.

It was another truly remarkable performance in the Bundesliga ahead of their Champions League round-of-16 return leg with Shakhtar Donetsk next week. Yet among the smiles and jubilation on Pep Guardiola's bench, there sat a player who, despite cheering with his teammates and fellow members of the Bavarian club, would have been seething inside.

Bayern had just put on another fantastic show, and once again Mario Gotze played no part in it. 

Although the reasoning behind the young, German prodigy's sitting out Saturday's game were perfectly clear for all to see—Guardiola undoubtedly wants to keep Gotze fit for the coming Champions League clash—the manner in which Paderborn were so easily dismantled quite perfectly displayed a theory that has been gaining momentum throughout the past 18 months in Munich: Bayern don't really need Gotze. 

On the day, Guardiola opted to instead start with an attacking line led by Robert Lewandowski–another player who hasn't exactly nailed down a first-team spot—with Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery playing behind him in an attacking three across the midfield. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

This happened to be the first start and full 90 minutes for Ribery since he played Mainz on December 19, meaning the French international and former playmaker-in-chief has finally returned to full fitness and will once again be demanding a starting role in the weeks ahead. 

This is where Gotze's current predicament comes to the fore. 

In Paderborn's sold-out Benteler-Arena, 15,000 fans and millions across the world watched in amazement as Robben, Ribery and Muller took to the field and played inch-perfect attacking football. Following a bland 0-0 draw away to Shakhtar last week, the fans demanded a response and received it—and then some. 

Fans rushing to the defence of Gotze will quite rightfully point to the two goals he scored in the 8-0 demolition of Hamburg just last week, but such goalscoring has long since been an absent aspect of the attacking midfielder's game.

Sure, he bagged two last week, but the last league goal before that was at the end of November. Eight league games and multiple opportunities had since passed for Gotze, and he simply didn't take advantage. 

In comparison, Robben has since scored 12 goals and Muller three with five assists, according to Transfermarkt, since Gotze's fleeting goal in November, and both have made considerable progress over the past few months to solidify their manager's appreciation. 

Of course, it's not just Gotze's actual performances that have gone against the 22-year-old of late—Bayern's tactics haven't helped either. 

When Gotze was so fantastic at Borussia Dortmund before arriving in Munich, he played as a straightforward No. 10 who could score and create goals for fun from one game to the next. Play him behind the striker, put two wingers either side of him, and this small, technical player would win you games. 

Yet Guardiola's Bayern isn't that simple. Playing with a back three in defence at times, accompanied by three central midfielders, two wing-backs and effectively two forwards, Bayern at times look as though they're playing something like a 3-3-4, with the likes of Gotze and Muller expected to make the most of a crowded final third. 

This clearly doesn't work for the German international. Gotze has made a name and career for himself playing quick, counter-attacking football, yet under Guardiola he has been stuck playing a controlling style of football that often has him playing with his back to goal. 

The former Dortmund star may be out of form, but there's also the suggestion that Guardiola's Bayern just isn't the right fit for him. 

Bayern welcome Cologne and then Braunschweig to the Allianz Arena and then travel to Hannover for league duties before Shakhtar arrive in Munich on March 11, and there's a very strong chance that Gotze may well start in all four games. 

Yet unless the attacking midfielder finds a way to make this season work with Bayern, the sight of him sitting on the bench while Robben, Ribery and Co. continue to dazzle fans across Europe may become more and more common. 

@Sbienkowski