Despite whatever the scoreline says....this was NOT a convincing victory by Pep's team. There is still room for improvement and Pep saw Dortmund expose a lot of weaknesses in the defence of his team. But great managers know how to respond, and that is exactly what Pep did.
I can still argue that Bayern, who needed a goal against Dortmund who were putting on pressure, NEEDED to bring on a striker. It's like simple logic. You need to score, you bring a striker or ADD to the striker you have. Pep thought otherwise, and Gotze got the goal.
It was a good tactical ploy. Playing Gotze from the start would have been too much with the crowd going against him. Bringing him on against a new look defence that were starting to tire was perfect. Gotze was fresh, he found space and the defenders were too late to close him down when he put the ball away with beautiful finish. Simple as pie. I think that has to be Pep's greatest strength. I may not like his philosophy of football, but one thing I do admire is how he is CONSTANTLY instructing his team during a match. He's always making minor adjustments during a match and he has no fear of making very BOLD changes that many like myself would frown at. He does it his away and does not give two smacks what anyone thinks.
As Bayern go forward, Pepe will know that the unbeaten season is clearly in his sights. Dortmund will have to come to Munich in the return game and Pep is confident they can beat them again in front of their own fans. As far as the other teams are concerned, Bayern just have far too strong of a squad for the rest. However, Pep will know there will be challenges ahead and his team CAN'T always play well as they failed to do in the first half against Dortmund. That is where he will earn his Euros by making the definitive changes to win games and to avoid losses.
HH
