With all of his central defenders either injured or suspended, Hansi Flick had his work cut out for him when it came to Bayern Munich’s defensive approach against Paderborn.
That seems odd to say, considering that Paderborn is at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. But the newly promoted side has taken points from Dortmund and Schalke this season, and made things close late against Bayern in the reverse fixture – ultimately a 3-2 win for the Bavarians.
But after experimenting with both David Alaba and Lucas Hernandez in central defense, Hansi Flick elected to stay true to his defenders’ strengths.
Though Flick’s choices were rational given his options, playing five full- and wing-backs at once was quite the gamble. The result was an incohesive unit that could not handle the worst team in the Bundesliga.