Aston Villa – Bayern Munich: Villa Roll Back The Years (1-0)
Aston Villa’s most memorable European triumph came against Bayern Munich 42 years ago, and they were able to claim victory over Bayern again here thanks to a well-executed defensive game-plan. Their counter-attacks posed problems for Bayern’s aggressive man-marking and eventually led to the decisive goal via Jhon Durán’s incredible finish.
Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.
The return of top-level European football to Villa Park after decades away saw Villa face Bayern Munich, who Villa beat in the final when the club won the European Cup 42 years ago. Bayern have started this season with some big scorelines, including putting nine goals past Dinamo Zagreb on the first Champions League matchday, but were held to a draw at the weekend by Bayer Leverkusen, despite dominating the game.
Unai Emery’s side lined up in a 4-4-2 shape here, with a back four of Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne. Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans partnered in central midfield, while Jaden Philogene and Jacob Ramsey played the wide roles. Morgan Rogers then supported Ollie Watkins up front.
As for Bayern, Vincent Kompany used a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, and Alphonso Davies at the back. Joshua Kimmich was joined by Aleksandar Pavlović in the double-pivot, while Michael Olise occupied a number ten role. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman were the wide players, with Harry Kane starting up front.
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