Resilient Frankfurt Give Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich a Reason to Grow

Bayern Munich's record-setting streak of 10 consecutive victories to start the Bundesliga season came to an end of Friday night as the three-time defending German champions were held to a scoreless draw by a resilient Frankfurt side at the Commerzbank-Arena.

Much can be and has been said of the Bavarians' magnificent form this season, which has seen them shatter many records.

In addition to bettering their own record of eight straight wins to start the 2012-13 season, they won their 1,000th Bundesliga game last weekend and netted a superlative 33 goals in the opening 10 rounds of action. Fueled by the majestic form of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, who had combined for 23 goals (a record after 10 rounds), Bayern looked to be unstoppable.

Yet there was one record that would not be broken: Tottenham Hotspur's 55-year-old record of 11 wins to start a season in one of Europe's top five leagues.

Things just didn't go Bayern's way on Friday. Arjen Robben was booked for a dive in the penalty box before Lewandowski had a goal ruled out. Both calls were correct, but on another day, odds are decent that at least one call would have gone in Bayern's favor and decided the game.

Referee Daniel Siebert did bizarrely opt to give five added minutes (in response, the Twitter account of 11 Freunde magazine (in German) noted that Siebert's regular profession is a teacher, not a clown), but it just wasn't Bayern's day.

In the second half, Lewandowski and Douglas Costa both missed one-on-ones with brilliant goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. Even Philipp Lahm was booked, for the first time in the Bundesliga since early 2014.

Although Bayern weren't at their sharpest (a fraction of a second too late, misplacement of a shot by just a degree, and so on), Frankfurt deserve heaps of credit for earning their result. Many clubs face Bayern and simply roll over. They don't only play purely defensive football, they look visibly defeated from an early stage.

Frankfurt defended, of course, but did so without showing the nerves and fear most that come against Bayern display at some point or another. They were unapologetic, with Carlos Zambrano in particular willing to use his strength to hold off the likes of Lewandowski and Muller.

To their credit, Frankfurt could have scored on several occasions and in fairness had the upper hand for a fair portion of the second half. Alex Meier had a golden opportunity to open the scoring from a cross before Marc Stendera missed a one-on-one chance to punish Manuel Neuer for an uncharacteristically poor touch.

Although a win would have punctuated the point further, Frankfurt's ability to hold out for a scoreless draw can be a good thing for Bayern and German football overall.

Last week, Pep Guardiola played five forwards against a Cologne side that either could not or would not put up a fight. In that game, the Bavarians were begging to be hit in the areas in which they lacked numbers, behind the front line. But Cologne had no answer; they were too slow, timid and lacked the virility needed to punish Bayern for using too many forwards. The match ended 4-0 to Bayern, with the result decided by half-time.

Although against Frankfurt, he replaced attacker Muller with midfielder Xabi Alonso, Guardiola still played a very aggressive tactic with Lewandowski, Kingsley Coman, Robben and Costa in the attack. Rafinha was used at left-back.

"

The Eintracht Frankfurt players raise their arms to the sky - they've done it, they've achieved the impossible - a draw with Bayern Munich.

— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) October 30, 2015"

Guardiola's lineups in the Bundesliga as of late have seemed to be the coaching equivalent of a shrug accompanied by the word "whatever." It's not the kind of tactical setup that would work in the Champions League, nor the kind that Guardiola himself would dare to try.

Friday's result will be remembered as two points lost for Bayern and, as a result, will give the trainer more reason to evolve and challenge himself against domestic opponents. And it will also serve as a reminder to the players that winning needs not to be as easy as it's been.

In the grand scheme of things, Saturday's result is probably no more than a blip for Bayern, who are now eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund in the league table. Their squad is too good to truly be challenged by any German team.

Moreover, Guardiola has a knack for turning things around quickly, especially before the home stretch of the season. He won't be happy, his players won't be happy, and that's precisely why Bayern still look to be the best team in world football.

Early this season, they won every game for two-and-a-half months. If they react well to Friday's draw, they might just one-up their previous record, starting with Wednesday's Champions League run-in with Arsenal.

@Mr_Bundesliga