Defending: A high line for all time

So Dieter Hecking tactically outmasters Pep Guardiola. Not sure anyone saw that coming. Perhaps we should just draw a line under the rest of the season before it starts because we're unlikely to see something like what happened on Friday night again.

Despite having six odd weeks to plan for this, both Guardiola and his men were uncharacteristically sluggish. Dante over Mehdi Benatia (who surely can't be 100 percent fit) was a surprise, but so was Sebastian Rode at right back. Who knew that the loss of Philipp Lahm would be so poorly managed by Bayern in the opening Bundesliga game of the second half of this season?

It was more than the absence of one man or the poor form of another though. Guardiola played straight into Hecking's hands. Wolfsburg have become, thanks largely to the excellent exploits of Kevin de Bruyne, a very strong counterattacking side. On Friday night, Bayern were set-up to be exposed by that.

I mentioned that defending was a risky business in my first post. The way Bayern defended against Wolfsburg was beyond risky. It was unnecessary. The two centre backs - Dante and Jerome Boateng - were slow to react to everything, although not as slow as their head coach who failed to react to the situation in the manner we're accustomed to. Rode roamed but hopelessly, leaving the defensive shape confused. Bringing Mitchell Weiser on did nothing to make the right-hand side more effective, leaving David Alaba's lungs all but wasted in left midfield.

While Bayern playing as few as two defenders at the back (when in possession) is not unusual, the height of their defensive line was astonishing. Even more remarkable was that Wolfsburg were able to ruthlessly exploit the space on offer. Just take a look at Kevin de Bruyne's first goal. All that was needed was a long ball or two. Step forward Maxi Arnold.

Ross was right in predicting he would start in defensive midfield, but not even my Scottish friend could have predicted Arnold would have been as effective as he was. Playing an attacking midfielder in a defensive midfield position is superb if you can counterattack brilliantly - and Arnold's vision and manipulation of the space was superb for a man of just 20-years-old.

Bayern can normally afford to flood forward. It leaves their opponents claustrophobic and they soon make costly mistakes. Against Wolfsburg, Bayern did that but they didn't win tackles, react quickly enough or take advantage of the few chances they had.

It would be a disservice to say that Wolfsburg didn't play a large part in all of those areas. Diego Benaglio made some fine saves, Bast Dost rose to the occasion for the first time in a Wolfsburg shirt and Kevin de Bruyne might just be on the way to being the club's best signing - especially if that bloke from London doesn't arrive.