Lahm: It can't get any more defensive
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Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm bemoaned opponents' defensive tactics after the champions dropped their first German Bundesliga points of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Bavarian giants warmed up for the visit of Arsenal on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League by seeing their domestic winning streak broken yesterday. Bayern's record run of ten Bundesliga wins at the start of a season came to an abrupt halt as they were held to a goalless draw at Frankfurt, although they still enjoy an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Despite enjoying 74 percent of possession, Bayern managed just ten shots on goal to Eintracht's eight as the hosts put in a disciplined display and refused to allow the reigning champions space to exploit. The hosts contained Bayern's attack, led by Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, which had scored 33 goals in their previous ten league games. The Frankfurt draw came just a fortnight after Bayern only managed a 1-0 win at Werder Bremen, who also packed their defence.
"Every weekend you think to yourself: 'it can't get any more defensive'. But then another team comes along and yes, they're even more defensive," complained Lahm, who made his 450th appearance for Bayern. "It makes creating chances far from easy, but we had a few openings and in a game like that you have to take them. We've done that successfully in recent weeks, but not here."
Bayern are bidding to become the first team to win a fourth straight German league title and Lahm predicts teams will park the proverbial bus in front of goal in the coming weeks. "We'll frequently face opponents who play very, very defensively," he added.
Midfielder Arturo Vidal said Frankfurt shut the game down whenever Bayern approached their opponents' box. "It was very hard work, Frankfurt pulled all 11 men back to the edge of their own box," said the Chilean. "That makes it almost impossible for any team to score. All that was missing was a goal. We're obviously disappointed with the draw. We need to keep on working if we're to hit our targets."
However, Frankfurt, who are 11th in the table, deserve credit for bouncing back from their shock 1-0 defeat at third-division Erzgebirge Aue in the German Cup in midweek. "You can't stop Bayern creating scoring chances time and again due to their individual quality, but we made it difficult and were able to get at them here and there," said Stefan Aigner. "I think we were very strong, but it's only one point, so we mustn't ease back."