Sebastian Rode Is Just What Doctor Ordered for Bayern Munich in Hoffenheim Win

Bayern Munich put their midweek woes behind them on Saturday as they rebounded from their Champions League defeat to Porto with a 2-0 win away to Hoffenheim. Although the result suggests a comfortable win, it was anything but easy for Bayern, who were ahead 1-0 until the final seconds of the game, when Andreas Beck scored an own goal to put the result to rest.

Before the 2-0, the match was always in the balance. The hero on the day for the visitors was not Robert Lewandowski nor Thomas Muller, but Sebastian Rode.

Ex-Frankfurt man Rode was restored to the Bayern lineup on Saturday as Pep Guardiola rested several of his stars ahead of Tuesday's do-or-die clash with Porto.

Not exactly renowned for his attacking play, the fact that Rode was the match-winner underlined a generally great performance from the 24-year-old midfielder, whose value perhaps has been overlooked amid an injury crisis that has rocked the Bayern squad.

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RODE! https://t.co/5vjArKxpja

— Futebol News (@_FuteNews) April 18, 2015"

On Saturday, Rode stabilized a midfield that contained the undersized Gianluca Gaudino and combative but still physically limited Rafinha. Faced with strong, fast, counterattacking opponents like Kevin Volland and Roberto Firmino, he played an energetic game from box to box, breaking up play at the defensive end and driving forward into attack.

Bayern have had little trouble controlling match tempo this season, but their midfield nonetheless has had serious problems. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xabi Alonso have proven too similar in style to play together, lacking both pace with the ball to transition quickly into attack and the foot speed to close down space.

Opponents have exploited again and again between the midfield and defensive lines. Both, along with Philipp Lahm, play very deep and are excellent when defending a lead, but none at this point can truly serve as an engine in the way that Rode can.

In the Champions League against Shakhtar, Alonso and Schweinsteiger accumulated a total of three yellow cards as they let opponents get away from them.

In the first leg with Porto, the hosts pressed them high, and Bayern's midfield didn't have enough energy to compete. Thiago was a valuable creative outlet who was able to inject much-needed creativity and quickness on the ball. But with no wingers to stretch the game, Bayern's extremely narrow approach needed an aggressive, energetic ball-winner to play from box to box and aid both Thiago and the back line.

Saturday's match showed just what Rode can provide Bayern. Despite being faced with quality among the Hoffenheim attackers, he wasn't found chasing and pulling them back from behind. And he did what Schweinsteiger, Lahm and Alonso very rarely do: Run into the box, receive a pass and shoot.

Rode isn't the greatest goal scorer in the Bayern team and not quite as accurate in striking the ball as many of his midfield colleagues, but success can only come with attempts. Rode's shooting is good enough, and he put himself in a position to score.

In the end, that's the difference between him scoring the goal that put Bayern on course for victory and some of his colleagues struggling to create opportunities going forward, as they have on numerous occasions.

On Thursday, team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt resigned, claiming he'd been blamed for the Porto defeat, per BBC. Perhaps the solution spent much of the match on the bench. Introduced in the second half, Rode looked bright and linked with the forwards even better than Mario Gotze had prior to the two being swapped.

Come Tuesday, Guardiola will have no choice but to aggressively push for goals, of which Bayern will need at least two in order to progress. Rode may not be first choice in a fully-fit squad, but given the options, he just might be what the doctor ordered.

@Mr_Bundesliga