Bayern Munich – Real Madrid: Bavarian Barrage Matches Madrilenian Mystique (2-2)
The master of the match plan and the match maneuvering masters met in Munich. Thomas Tuchel toyed about with his first course of action, producing phases of brilliance in the ninety minutes. Nevertheless, his men would not be free from the royal wrath of Madrid forever.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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Bayern Munich’s malaise has been critical at long last. The last few weeks of the season will witness no procession to the top spot in the Bundesliga or a feature in the DFB Pokal final. A trophyless haul for the first time in twelve years has a high likelihood. The management has paid the price. Yet, one cannot underestimate the power of European heritage. Thomas Tuchel, the master of the match plan, now turns to cup competition to dole out dignity on his behalf in his final days in the Bavarian dugout.
The reputation of Real Madrid is one of only a few that trumps the Germans. Their 14 Champions League titles are at least double the total of any other outfit on the continent. The sights of their elite standards should still see success from this campaign. A 3-2 win over Barcelona in the latest edition of El Clásico has almost wrapped up the return of the LaLiga trophy to the capital city. Vengeance at the Etihad Stadium kicked out the reigning champions from Europe: is a 15th victory on the way?
Carlo Ancelotti allowed his main men to rest in a one goal win over Real Sociedad. Antonio Rüdiger came in for Éder Militão at the heart of the back four with Nacho. Dani Carvajal’s suspension saw Lucas Vázquez fill in on the right of the rearguard while Ferland Mendy acted as the left back. Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, and Jude Bellingham joined Aurélien Tchouaméni in the midfield quartet. The Brazilian tandem of Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior struck up their partnership in the offense.
Tuchel threw three new players into his starting eleven from the 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Matthijs de Ligt was absent from the squad, making way for Kim Min-jae as the partner to Eric Dier in the center of the defense. Joshua Kimmich stayed on the right of the back four, so Konrad Laimer and Leon Goretzka stayed as the two pieces in the pivot. Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting and Raphaël Guerreiro swapped with Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané. Thomas Müller moved into the center.
Bright Bavarian beginning
Within a mere forty seconds, the hosts had almost marched into the lead. Goretzka rolled out to the left of the central defenders, connecting to Noussair Mazraoui. The fullback carried the ball inward off the line, firing it into the feet of Kane. The striker slipped Sané in behind the defense between Rüdiger and Vázquez with a well weighted layoff, but his teammate could not sweep his shot around Andriy Lunin. It was an ideal illustration of what the Bavarians wanted to achieve with the ball.
11th minute: offensive sequence from Bayern Munich. Musiala had dropped deep to collect the ball, laying it off to Kimmich. Müller, who had dropped off the last line, briefly advanced and then timed his connecting movement in coordination with Musiala’s rotation off Kroos. He fakes to go deep to Musiala, switching his attention inside to release the dropping Kane. Sané immediately attacks the space in behind Rüdiger and on Vázquez’s inside shoulder, but a pass does not connect the two.
They adopted a similar structure in the final third to the layout that lasered routes through Lazio in the second leg of the Round of 16. The fullbacks pushed higher, holding the width. Musiala and Sané rotated into the halfspaces, operating behind Kane and Müller. If Madrid tried to engage with a higher press, a typically frailer scheme in their extensive repertoire, it was easy to pick them off. Sané and Musiala could stride into room with or without the ball. The two touch game and movement of Müller or linkup from Kane contributed to the release of runners behind the fullbacks into the penalty area.
Five shots followed in the first fifteen minutes. Only two more materialized before half time. The guests were not as forgiving in their defensive work. Though Ancelotti was not complimentary of the intensity in the first half after the final whistle, his opposite number noted how Madrid had set deeper after the opening stages of the game. Now, it was not nearly so simple to get into the halfspaces.
Real robbery requires no rhythm
Madrid pushed the play to the outside. Musiala could still stand up to that pressure. It is his trademark to show short for the ball, and then turn markers to glide into the final third. Sané could not mirror this solution from the inside on the left, frequently being guilty of a failure to protect possession with his back to goal. Aleksandar Pavlović’s playmaking to change the picture from the base of the midfield was not possible either. Sluggish, U-shaped ball movement eased the load on Madrid’s rearguard.
30th minute: defensive sequence from Real Madrid. Rodrygo and Mendy engage Kimmich, forcing the right back to recirculate. Six players are standing outside of the formation. Kimmich dribbles back without an option behind Bellingham and Vinícius, while Laimer drops into the first line. Valverde can step up onto Goretzka by the time he receives. Another pass to Dier allows Valverde to cover a widening Mazraoui and Tchouaméni’s angled press forces Goretzka to go back to Manuel Neuer.
The idea of Laimer and Goretzka in a double pivot was not always an impediment. Laimer’s display depicted the importance of their defensive work. Indeed, the Bavarians built some phases of intense pressure and even if the onslaught slowed down in their half, it did not speak to a threat from Madrid. Yet, we have seen the script too many times to count. The guests do not garner their strength from conventional dominance. A moment of magical individualism in the 24th minute started the scoring.
Müller and Kane slid across to Rüdiger and Kroos to pin Madrid’s circulation. The release valve from Vázquez was a disguised pass into the middle of the field. Min-jae jumped aggressively at Vinícius, Kimmich did not cover his teammate, and under no pressure, Kroos picked the lock. Maximal delay of the pass meant maximal damage. Vinícius was clean through on goal and buried the through ball.
This Kroos pass to Vinícius’s goal from this angle is just incredible. pic.twitter.com/3RxI5yS3IV
— 𝙇𝘽𝙕 (@losblancoszone) April 30, 2024
Tuchel tests an alternative measure
Tuchel turned to his bench. Guerreiro came on for Goretzka in the middle of the park. His comfort in higher zones of the field fitted the intent of the hosts with his more nimble and agile profile. The two wingers had also swapped sides. Both Musiala on the left and Sané on the right stayed wide, searching for situations to dribble aggressively from the outside. Sané, who had shriveled from prominence as a finalizer during the first fifteen minutes of the contest, would ascend once more in the 53rd minute.
Real Madrid’s block left a lot of space throughout, but Bayern adding Guerreiro made them exploit this space better:
— Joel Parker (@Joelissimmo) April 30, 2024
- Guerreiro rotates into high-left space out of the pivot.
- Musiala double movement drops RM markers back.
- Space opens for Laimer to carry in middle third. pic.twitter.com/yFImBX7qG6
Mazraoui received the ball deep on the left. Rotation between Guerreiro and Musiala opened inside access for the fullback. Laimer leveraged the ball to the right, where Sané stood on the outside. The winger drove diagonally inside and as Kimmich arrived on an overlap, Mendy chose to back off his opposite man. Sané sensed blood, shifting inside into the box and slapping a shot in at the near post. The man, who had not scored since the end of October, saved a sweet strike for an opportune moment.
Müller moved expertly to explore the possibilities for further openings. He pulled off the shoulder of Kroos, pushing his first touch into space to switch sides. The recipient of his pass into the final third was Musiala. Vázquez clipped the shin of the winger, who dropped to the floor and earned a penalty. Kane stepped up to the plate from twelve yards, ignoring the words of his compatriot Bellingham, to concentrate on the effort. His stutter step technique outmaneuvered Lunin, rolling the ball into the back of the net. In less than five minutes, the hosts dumped the burden of a deficit on their opponents.
Kim’s calamity causes regret
Ancelotti answered with substitutes. Just past the hour mark, he put on Eduardo Camavinga for Nacho. The Frenchman sat as the second pivot, so Tchouaméni dropped into the back four. Brahim Díaz replaced Bellingham, and Luka Modrić switched places with Kroos. Modrić nearly assisted Vinícius with a chip in behind the defense, but the Brazilian’s moment would come in due course.
Tchouaméni sprayed the ball out to Vinícius on the left wing. Rodrygo ran off the back of Laimer, fixing the attention of Min-jae. He shaped to go to his left, entering the penalty area, and then poked the ball through the legs of Sané into the path of his fellow Brazilian. Rodrygo rolled inside Min-jae, who hugged him tightly and gave away a penalty. Vinícius’ brace bailed out the Spaniards, slotting to the left of Neuer in the 83rd minute. An equal split of four strikes presents an enthralling second leg.
Takeaways
Bayern Munich arguably managed to put on their performance of the campaign. The first quarter of an hour in each half targeted faults in Madrid’s defense, while the tinkering of Tuchel told a story of a manager that thrives for the task of such match plans. A league title charge is a different demand to the management of cup competitions and this terrain should lead to more adaptations next week. However, he will be wary of the errors and imbalances that have been issues for most of the year.
One wonders if Real Madrid will ever tire of not putting their opponents to bed from the first whistle. Against an outfit that do not take territory with the model of Manchester City, there was not the same discipline in their work without the ball. But that matters much less with the quality of their scramble defense. At the other end of the pitch, Vinícius embodies the power and pace in Ancelotti’s hands to switch gears at the flip of a switch. This element of unpredictability is what scares Europe the most.
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