Bayern Munich Lose on Penalties to Guangzhou: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Bayern Munich ended their China tour on a disappointing note on Thursday as they lost to Guangzhou Evergrande in a penalty shootout after a scoreless 90 minutes.
In sweltering conditions at Tianhe Stadium, the hosts played positive football for much of the match before riding out a late surge from the Champions League semifinalists. In penalties, Guangzhou put all five of their spot-kicks past reserve Bayern goalkeeper Ivan Lucic, while a miss by Thomas Muller saw Pep Guardiola's men slump to defeat.
There were several take-home messages from the proceedings on Thursday: The good, the bad, and the ugly. B/R reviews the action in all categories below:
The Good: Douglas Costa
At the moment, it's unclear as to when Franck Ribery will be fit to play. However, Guardiola may not need to sweat over his fitness, as Douglas Costa has been a real bright spot in the Germans' attack. No other Bayern attacker who traveled to China possesses the catalytic properties of the Brazilian, whose lightning-quick acceleration and clever feints made him a real nightmare for the Guangzhou defense.
Especially late in the game, Costa's quick play on the wing created space for him to put the ball into the penalty area. He had every bit of confidence in taking on his opponents in one-on-one situations, and even had the odd effort on goal.
Ribery and Arjen Robben are the only other Bayern players capable of similar gameplay, so Costa is truly in good company. What he is yet to show, however, is that he has much to offer in terms of finishing. If he is to eventually replace one of Bayern's aging superstar wingers, this is the area where he'll need to improve.
He's still young, though, and he is absolutely exceeding expectations given how recent his move was to the German giants.
The Bad: Bayern's defense
Maybe it was the heat of the southern Chinese summer, or maybe it was Guardiola's selection and focus in training, but Bayern looked a bit of a mess at the back and almost uninterested in defending. There were several situations in which the visitors were found chasing their opponents from midfield and facing their own goal, exactly the kind of situations a defender should aim to avoid in every instance.
Most notably, Guangzhou forward Gao Lin found himself through on goal from the halfway line, his starting position as he latched onto a through pass giving him more than enough room to pick out his shot before David Alaba could catch him. Only a spectacular one-on-one save denied the hosts a goal and perhaps the win.
Perhaps there was a lack of motivation on Thursday, but Bayern will need to be much more attentive to their defending when the competitive season begins: Europe's elite strikers won't spurn chances as Guangzhou did.
The Ugly: Bayern's finishing
It was fitting that Bayern lost to Guangzhou on penalties, their second spot-kick shootout defeat of the preseason following their Telekom Cup loss to Borussia Monchengladbach. Their 4-1 drubbing of Valencia aside, the German record champions have struggled to finish during the preseason.
Bayern created too few chances against Guangzhou and failed to put the ball in the net when they gathered momentum late in the game. As such, the hosts fully deserved a draw in regular time, and their winning of the penalty shootout was similarly well earned.
Robert Lewandowski in particular needs to find his goalscoring form soon, or Bayern could be in trouble. The Poland international is their only natural striker at this point, and with his teammates looking inconsistent at best, it's uncertain at this point as to wherefrom Guardiola's men will get their goals.
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