If you are looking for more certainty as to which clubs will advance to the knock-out round, Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League results did not help. Draws by the leaders of Groups B, C, and D drew trailing teams closer to the top, and while all the names at the top remain in the same, Match Day 5 just got a lot more interesting.
There was one group that gained clarity: Group A. Since the group was drawn, we have waited to see who from Bordeaux, Juventus, and Bayern Munich would fall-off: settling into third place and become one of the strongest clubs in Europa League.
Before Match Day 1, you could have argued Bayern Munich’s talent and depth had them best situated to deal with the demands of UEFA’s mid-week, schedule congesting group play. Additionally, München is only two years removed from an early Champions League exit, an exit that saw the club restructure their squad with the expressed goal of regaining their place amongst Europe’s elite.
After today’s home loss to Bordeaux, München will have to go back to the drawing board. They still have a chance to advance out of Group A, but their destiny is now out of their hands. München will need to win in Turin and then hope an already-qualified Bordeaux gets a point from Juventus on the final match day.
Neither of those results are impossible, but if München are to take care of their end of the bargain, they will need a new approach. Weakened squad or not, going scoreless at home against Bordeaux should force Louis van Gaal to reassess his side to try and find a solution.
They have two weeks to find it; else, start playing for Europa.
This post is continued at World Soccer Reader, where I will again be doing a week’s worth of previews and reviews on the UEFA Champions League matches.