Benfica – Bayern Munich: Schjelderup Snatches Top Spot in Group C Upset (1-0)
In the penultimate group stage match that was set to decide the table topper, Benfica took the lead against the odds. Bayern Munich were flat in the first half, but despite a rejuvenated performance in the second, there were plenty of opportunities to equalize. However, the frontline misfired and had to settle for the runner-up spot in Group C.
Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.
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Two undefeated teams in the tournament faced each other on Tuesday in what was the final group stage game. Although they had qualified, the respective managers would have still wanted their players to remain focused and stay unbeaten to keep the morale up ahead of the knockout rounds.
Bruno Lage made three changes to the side that thrashed Auckland City 6-0. Samuel Dahl featured at left-back for the suspended Álvaro Carreras. In midfield, Leandro Barreiro was paired with Renato Sanches instead of Orkun Kökçü. Lastly, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, the left winger, was benched for the young Andreas Schjelderup.
Vincent Kompany, on the other hand, rotated the team far more. It was understandable, as their hard-fought 2-1 victory against Boca Juniors was an intense match that pushed the players physically. The only ones to retain their spot were Serge Gnabry, Raphaël Guerreiro, and captain Manuel Neuer.
The match started with many of the tactical themes that were covered in the Bayern-Boca clash. In terms of structure and approach regarding tempo, Benfica resembled many of the principles that Miguel Ángel Russo employed. To their credit, despite a few leaky moments, Boca did prove to be defensively solid for a large chunk of the game.
Similar in and out of possession structures
Against Bayern’s aggressive 4-2-4 on-ball structure—where the fullbacks advance to join the midfield lines and support the wingers—Benfica lined up in a 4-4-2 middle block. They blocked central areas by defending zonally and tried not to drop too deep. Nevertheless, they were willing to cede possession control and looked to hurt the Bavarians on the counter. Thus, it was vital for Benfica to be efficient in front of goal. This approach implied that they would create low volume but high-quality chances. When the opportunity arose, they had to be clinical.
Bayern’s 4-2-4 in-possession shape versus Benfica’s 4-4-2 middle block structure.
As seen above, in this phase, the wingers Leroy Sané and Gnabry held maximum width by positioning close to the touchline. This pinned the Benfica fullbacks. However, the Bayern forwards were not fixated on occupying the opposition’s center-backs. Rather, they tried to drop between the lines and create passing angles to play through the middle. If they could receive in this zone, it would create trouble, as the Benfica defenders would have to step up and create a hole in the backline—opening space for the wingers to run into.
The movement of Thomas Müller or Tom Bischof to drop between the lines can draw in a center-back – creating a gap in the defensive line for a winger to exploit.
Kompany’s staggered pivots—referring to the diagonal positioning of the defending midfielders, with one player operating inside the opposition block whilst the other is outside it—was also another tactic used to try and pierce through the center. Additionally, with Aleksandar Pavlović in the side, they had a midfielder who is adept at finding line-breaking passes from deeper positions.
Apart from trying to break down Benfica through short, intricate passes, Bayern also mixed it up by going direct and playing it in behind the defensive line or even attempting diagonals after attracting the opposition to one side of the field.
A goal against the odds
In the opening period of the match, despite Bayern’s possession, Benfica remained competitive. They were defensively solid and barely let any chances slip whilst producing a dangerous chance from the second phase of a set-piece. However, they managed to generate a crucial match-defining moment in the 13th minute.
Benfica looked to build up from goal kicks in a 4-2-4 shape that we see many teams across Europe deploy. Despite the Bayern man-oriented pressure in this phase, the team in red was willing to try and play it short so that they could pass it through the lines. Often, though, Benfica would be forced to play it long to prevent a high turnover.
Once that long ball is played, there is a brief chaotic period where both teams are vulnerable. Benfica would be yet to organize themselves in their settled defensive structure, whilst the man-oriented Bayern would also be open. Since they press man-for-man, their rest defence structure is not intact—giving the opposition an opportunity if they come out on top in the aerial or ground duels.
In the 13th minute, Benfica tried to play it short from a deep build-up situation where goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin had to pump it long after all his options were tightly marked. Schjelderup lost the aerial duel to Boey, who got first contact. However, he did not manage to find a teammate with the header, and it was picked up by left-back Samuel Dahl, who initiated a diagonal switch of play as Benfica looked to attack quickly.
13th minute: From a deep build-up phase, Benfica generate a goal-scoring opportunity.
They managed to reach the byline on the right flank where right-back Fredrik Aursnes, who had darted forward, played a cutback into the box. Schjelderup cleverly read the play and had anticipated the pass—allowing him to meet the cross ahead of any Bayern player. The first-time shot found the bottom left corner as Neuer did not come close to laying a glove on it.
The goal scoring moment as Ángel Di María passes it to Aursnes before the cutback to Schjelderup.
Lacking the cutting edge
For the remainder of the first half, Bayern were extremely poor at creating chances in the final third. Playing at a slow tempo, they struggled to find the gaps to penetrate the Benfica defensive block, which found it comfortable to contain the opposition attacks.
That prompted Kompany to make three changes at half-time by bringing on players who had started against Boca. The alterations were also clearly intended to shift the attacking dynamic that had been frustratingly stale in the first half. Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Joshua Kimmich were brought on for Gnabry, João Palhinha, and Bischof.
As the manager had hoped, the impact from the substitutes was immediate.
The first of those chances came in the 51st minute where, in a rare scenario, Benfica were caught higher up the field. Kimmich recognized that the defensive line had stepped up, and at the same time, Sané had commenced a run to exploit the space.
51st minute: Bayern’s golden chance to equalize was initiated by a long ball from Kimmich to find Sané’s run behind the Benfica defensive line.
The pin-point long pass with his weaker foot found Sané behind the defenders and in a one-versus-one against the goalkeeper. Although the shot was mildly telegraphed, Trubin—one of the best performers of the game—pulled off an excellent save after initially reading the play well and stepping out of his line to close down Sané. This limited the room he had to shoot.
Just a few seconds later, Bayern forced a turnover after Benfica tried to counter. This led to another shot for Müller. However, he did not generate enough power behind the shot to trouble Trubin, who comfortably collected the ball. The chances kept flowing Bayern’s way, with Olise and Pavlović coming close shortly after.
It was not completely one-sided, though. Benfica substitute Aktürkoğlu almost doubled the lead after a neat piece of play. The move started from a counter after a possession turnover in Bayern’s attacking third. Barreiro then received the ball down the right side where he skipped past a Bayern player before cutting it back for Aktürkoğlu. A clever first touch separated him from Dayot Upamecano, but the shot that followed was easily stopped by Neuer.
As the second half wore on, Lage adjusted his team’s out-of-possession shape to a back five, with left winger Aktürkoğlu dropping deep to act as a nominal left wing-back. This tactical decision was made to prevent Bayern from having an overload against Benfica’s defensive line as they committed more players forward to push for an equalizer.
Lage took a more conservative defensive approach later in the second half as he shifted Benfica’s off-ball shape from a 4-4-2 to a 5-4-1.
Understandably, Bayern were occupying more threatening zones as Benfica were pinned deeper. They almost equalized on two separate occasions—once through a shot from Kimmich that found the bottom corner and the other with Konrad Laimer, as his shot smashed the far post. However, both were deemed to be offside.
One of the best chances of the second half again fell to Sané, who was one-versus-one against Trubin. Although the angle was tighter for this chance compared to the opportunity he had in the first half, Kompany would have expected his winger to capitalize.
The dramatic game delivered an entertaining watch to the supporters until the final whistle. Benfica were hanging onto the win by a thread, as Kane almost headed a cross in the final seconds into the goal but missed by inches.
Takeaways
Kompany would have felt that Bayern deserved at least a point for their second-half display, and that sentiment would be understandable. They were comfortably the better team and generated numerous high-quality chances that they failed to convert due to a mixture of outstanding goalkeeping and poor finishing.
On the other hand, Lage would be absolutely delighted with the result. The morale boost going into the Round of 16 is much needed as they face Premier League giants Chelsea. If they can produce another strong defensive performance, like they did in the first half against Bayern, they will be well-equipped to defeat another heavy hitter of the tournament. As Flamengo showcased in their 3-1 victory over the Blues, there are weaknesses in Enzo Maresca’s team that can be exploited.
That match also served as evidence for Kompany that Filipe Luís’ Flamengo can cause an upset. Their fluidity on the ball and aggressiveness off it will provide a tough test for Bayern, who have already had a taste of what it is like to face a team from South America.
The two match-ups will be competitive games as the Club World Cup heads into the exciting knockout rounds.
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