Chelsea or Bayern Munich - Who will be Europe's next 'Invincibles'?

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho (L) and Bayern boss Pep Guardiola

Real Madrid began the season badly. Atletico Madrid haven’t been as good as last season. Barcelona have fallen by the wayside in the big fixtures. Borussia Dortmund are keeping their necks just above the relegation swamp. PSG have stuttered without Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Manchester City seems to have fallen into a mini-crisis. Arsenal are playing like they always do, and that isn’t good news for Gooners.

Manchester United is yet to witness the revolution that Louis van Gaal promised to bring. Liverpool are but a pale shadow of the swashbuckling football they played last season. Roma is still reeling from that fateful night at Stadio Olimpico, when they shipped seven goals. Juventus are playing well, but they too have lost.

This leaves us with two teams who couldn’t have been more different from each other – one team which prides itself on playing the beautiful game the beautiful way, leaving opponents, fans and pundits in a daze, and the other playing the best football seen on English shores in well over a decade, with nobody good enough to stand on their way.

Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. The only two unbeaten teams in the continent’s top 5 leagues this season. Will this record stay unblemished for both of them come May? Who is going to be Europe’s next “Invincibles”?

Chelsea (Played 11 – Won 9, Drawn 2)

Strengths

Chelsea’s performances and team composition for most of their games has a Jose Mourinho trademark imprinted on them. This tactical astuteness and sound mentality is present in his team too, making them the best team in England by a long margin.

With the best young goalkeeper in Thibaut Courtois guarding the sticks, Chelsea would have been hard to break, even without the presence of that great blue wall of four in front of Courtois. A rejuvenated John Terry, who hasn’t fallen to the maladies of decline that age brings with it, marshals the Chelsea defence with the rock-solid Gary Cahill alongside him. The reliable Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta/Filipe Luis complete a near-impregnable defence.

Ahead of them, Chelsea has probably the best central midfield pairing in the world - Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas. A massive upgrade over Ramires and John Obi Mikel/Frank Lampard Chelsea’s central midfield pivot is the perfect combination of industry, intelligence and innovation. Fabregas is in the form of his life, showing Camp Nou why they were wrong to boo and blame him while Matic seems like the Blues’ successor to Claude Makelele.

They also have a fantastic frontline with the likes of Willian, Oscar and Andre Schurrle – all world-class players. But, what elevates their attack from championship winning stuff to invincibility contenders is the presence of two players who are poles apart in the way they play the game.

In Eden Hazard, the Blues have Europe’s hottest young talent plying his trade at Stamford Bridge. And in Diego Costa, they have an archetypal No.9, who was the bone of contention between two traditional powerhouses, Spain and Brazil. Enough said.

Weaknesses

Many pundits call the current Chelsea team the most likely one to emulate Arsene Wenger’s Invincible Arsenal team of 2003/04. Mainly because the team doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses. It looks complete in every department - the arrivals of Fabregas and Costa have ensured that.

But, if one has to pick out a weakness in the Chelsea squad, the fact that they don’t have a world class back-up striker stands out. If Diego Costa is hit by a serious injury, Chelsea might struggle as an ageing Didier Drogba and a still raw Loic Remy are not good enough to replace the Spaniard. But, they are good enough for most teams in the continent.

Opportunities

Chelsea have already been to the Etihad, Old Trafford, Goodison Park and Anfield this season and has come out unscathed every time. With a relatively easy second half of the season coming up, Chelsea have a huge chance to lift the Premier League title, barring a very unlikely monumental implosion.

All the other contenders from past seasons like Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United are struggling this season without exception. The league title is Chelsea’s to lose. And I don’t see them losing to any of the other 19 teams, however unpredictable the Premier League may be.

Threats

Chelsea, like every other Mourinho team before them, always rise to the occasion in big matches. They ensure the match never slips away when they play against teams of their level, soaking up the pressure, frustrating opponents and hitting them on the counter. Instead, it is against the minnows and bottom table teams that they generally struggle.

Taking the game to the opponents who put up shop in their own half has never been Mourinho’s forte. Last season’s losses to Newcastle United, Stoke City and West Ham only reiterated this further. Mourinho has to ensure that his little horses jump the hurdles of 19th century football without fail this season.

Verdict

Chelsea is well on course to break the 100 point barrier in the Premier League this season. Everything is in place for them to go the season unbeaten. They have to be careful against the banana peel opponents and Mourinho has to rotate his team wisely if they are to sustain this form late into the campaign as well. But on current form, the Blues are well on their way to emulating what their neighbours in the north achieved 11 years ago.

Things don’t look so rosy in Europe though, as Chelsea has struggled against group stage opponents that they are supposed to brush aside. Also, the fact that they have prioritised regaining the league title might work against them in Europe in the latter stages of the season. Expect a semi-final appearance at the very least from them nevertheless.

Bayern Munich

Strengths

What is there to say about the Bavarians that hasn’t been said over the last few years? Arguably the most consistent team in Europe over the last five years, there are so many good things about Bayern Munich, that knowing where to begin is hard.

At the back, Manuel Neuer is currently the goalkeeping equivalent of Superman. All he needs is a cape. Is there anything he can’t do? Like he himself said, it isn’t too far fetched to envisage a career outside the box for the 28-year-old. It would be nothing more than an extension of what he already does on a regular basis. And it is his massive presence at the back that allows Boateng and co to defend in the opposition half. Simply put, the best goalkeeper in the world today.

The sale of Toni Kroos was widely criticised by all quarters in pre-season, with Bayern letting go of one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the world today, and that too for a relatively low price. The acquisition of Xabi Alonso was questioned and termed myopic. But what a masterstroke his signing has been.

Alonso’s performances for Bayern have had class written all over them, with his experience helping him play as part of the back four and in the centre of the park. He is probably the most vital cog in Bayern’s midfield right now. And he has world class players all around him in Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sebastian Rode, Philip Lahm and the currently injured Thiago Alcantara.

While Bayern have kept clean sheets in a number of matches, the spotlight has been on the other side of the pitch, and deservedly so. They possess the most unpredictable and dynamic attack in the world today, with most of their players being adept at multiple roles.

Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze are perfect examples of this, wreaking havoc in the opposition half, with the defenders not knowing whom to mark. And, in Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, they have two of the best inverted wingers in the world. And then, there’s Robert Lewandowski up front. Formidable.

Weaknesses

Bayern Munich defenders Dante and Boateng

Finding an Achille’s heel in the Bavarians requires more than just microscopic attention. No team, except for perhaps Dortmund, has even come close to stopping the Red juggernaut from rolling. The susceptibility at the back that was seen during the big games last season is no longer there. The shrewd acquisitions of Mehdi Benatia and Juan Bernat has added further steel to a rock-solid backline.

But because of the way they play and the high line they adopt, one always gets that ominous feeling that it might all come crashing down when things don’t go their way. Guardiola’s innumerable permutations and combinations of 3-3-4 and 2-5-3 seem to focus least on the backline. And this might come back to haunt them, like what happened at the Allianz Arena against Real Madrid last season.

Opportunities

One major factor that makes things easier for Bayern is the curious case of Dortmund’s Bundesliga form. With Die Schwarzgelben languishing at the foot of the table, and no other team particularly standing up to Bayern like Jurgen Klopp’s team valiantly did over the last few years, it is only a question of how soon the Bavarians lift the league title.

And no other team, neither Schalke nor Bayer Leverkusen and not even Monchengladbach looks like standing in the way of Bayern and an unbeaten season. They may never get a better shot at invincibility, with all of their rivals miles behind them. Bayern’s time is now.

Dortmund came the closest to giving Bayern a run for their money

Threats

Bayern Munich’s biggest threat is out of their hands, unfortunately. One worrying trend all through the season for them has been an alarming number of injuries. The number of players who have gone under the knife has reached Arsenal-esque proportions with some unfortunate players being the victims of multiple injuries.

They lost Javi Martinez to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury. David Alaba is out with a knee injury until the New Year. Thiago Alcantara has been struck down by yet another setback. The saddest case of all is that of Holger Badstuber, whose very career is in danger, with injuries plaguing him repeatedly.

Even their reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina is out of action for the time being. And Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger look like they may break down any moment, with the excessive loads of previous seasons taking its toll on their tired bodies.

Verdict

This may be a bold statement, but on their current form, it seems like Bayern going through the entire season unbeaten is a given. Them drawing, let alone losing to any team in the Bundesliga, is hard to imagine and isn’t going to happen unless Lady Miracle pokes her nose in. They are definite contenders to emulate Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan et al, and go the entire season unbeaten.

The question of whether they can carry forward their perfect season to Europe is a bit more hard to answer. Bayern can probably beat Barcelona and PSG at their own game, out-passing and outscoring them. But how they fare against teams that hit on the break like Real Madrid and Chelsea is up for debate. But I can’t see them not reaching the Champions League final. They are that good and a possible treble awaits.

Edited by Staff Editor