Pep Guardiola should be a very happy and excited man as his team managed to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal Cup but after his squad defeated Bayer Leverkusen in a penalty session, the Spanish manager did not appear to be happy as Guardiola talked to reporters and only said that the absence of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery has limited the goal-scoring opportunities of his team as they aren’t able to score goals as fluently and consistently ever since those star players picked up injuries and haven’t been able to get in the pitch.
After Bayern Munich defeated Bayer Leverkusen, Pep Guardiola told reporters: ‘’Without Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, we are a different team. Of course we have big problems because we have no players for the one-on-one situations. We have other players and have to adapt the game for them.’’
Barcelona has Lionel Messi, Real Madrid has Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich have Arjen Robben along with Franck Ribery. If any of these players are absent and unable to perform for their respective clubs, they leave a huge gap that is very hard to fill and the German side is starting to feel the consequences of not having their star players.
On March 22, Bayern Munich lost 2-0 against Borussia M’gladbach as they failed to score a single goal. In the next week Bayern Munich claimed a 1-0 triumph over Borussia Dortmund, even though it was a hugely important victory it was only one goal which made the difference. These low scoring results are not common for Bayern Munich as the German club is one of the most prolific goal-scoring clubs in Europe but with the absence of Ribery and Robben, they have not been able to score as much as they usually do.
Bayern Munich had a very difficult time trying to score against Bayer Leverkusen and the only goals that were scored in this match arrived through a penalty session.
The Champions League is quickly approaching and Guardiola has to find a way to solve the goal-scoring problems that have been emerging since the absence of Robben and Ribery.