Bayern Stumble Across Line vs. Hertha as Bundesliga Title Draws Ever Closer

Bayern Munich made hard work of an incredibly average Hertha Berlin side in Saturday's 1-0 victory despite knowing fine well that a clever win would put them in a strong position to tie up the Bundesliga title before the start of the new week.

Instead, Pep Guardiola opted to bring in a number of fresh places to replace the regular, trusted stars that had dragged the side to the top of the Bundesliga table and the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Unfortunately, such a ploy did very little on the day. Bayern's B team of young talent proved to be no more than a match for Hertha for much of the game and ultimately offered very little but a frustrating day for most Bayern fans.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

The Catalan coach undoubtedly opted to rest his best players for the coming DFB-Pokal clash with Borussia Dortmund next week. Xabi Alonso, Juan Bernat and Javi Martinez all sat out Saturday's clash, yet such a decision dictated just how well Bayern won on the day.

The first half was a whitewash of back and forth between the two sides that would have been more fitting for a pre-season friendly—the teams had very little to play for.

Such an ethos was perfectly represented in Guardiola's choices for the starting Xi, as he picked a number of reserve players for a relatively important Bundesliga clash.

Sebastian Rode came in for Juan Bernat at left-back, while Mitchell Weiser picked up the role at right-back in place of Rafinha, Add to that young Gianluca Gaudino in place of Xabi Alonso and you had a first team that was littered with fledgling players that had no place in the the first team for such a match.

This was most notable throughout the first half, in a game Bayern struggled to control and take advantage of in the usual manner critics and fans are most accustomed to.

Whether it was the new faces or simply fatigue, Guardiola's side went in at half-time still in search of a breakthrough against a lowly Hertha team.

Although it may seem obvious to most who watched such a clash, the Bavarian giants looked ultimately toothless without the courage and skill of Arjen Robben on the right and Franck Ribery on the left.

The capital side dug trenches and fortified their goalmouth, and without such flair players to skip past opponents and pull defenders out of position, it seemed as though Bayern were destined to share the points on the day.

Of course, as we’ve learned from the Munich side this season, that was never going to be the case.

The goal itself—coming in the 80th minute through Bastian Schweinsteiger—was only possible because Weiser made the courageous decision to actually take on an opposing player and then another three before cutting the ball back to Schweinsteiger on the edge of the box.

The right-back may be out of contract this summer, but such a move was undoubtedly the only moment in which Bayern looked deserving of all three points. The central midfielder happily received the pass and duly knocked the ball into the back of the net.

Another goal for the German international and another weekend in which the German champions marched toward the Bundesliga title.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Bayern now rest assured that anything but a clear win for Wolfsburg over Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday night will mean the famous salad bowl is theirs to keep for another season.

Such a match on this most pedestrian of Saturdays may prove rather dismissive in capturing the excitement of this season’s Bundesliga campaign, but ultimately, it was enough for Guardiola’s side.

His reserves may have looked rather shabby on the day, but a solitary goal was all the reigning champions needed to stay on course for yet another German title.

@Sbienkowski