Rewind: Matchday 2 – Bayern’s Positional Acumen
Die Roten displayed exceptional positional intelligence, especially during the first half. The hosts applied the first wave of pressure through Amine Harit and Guido Burgstaller. Weston McKennie was responsible for pressing Joshua Kimmich. Benito Raman and Daniel Caligiuri patrolled on the flanks to keep a check on Benjamin Pavard and David Alaba, respectively. Schalke’s full-backs were in charge of controlling the movement of Bayern’s wingers.
The Royal Blues, effectively, pressed using five men in Bayern’s half. This was the original idea devised by David Wagner to stop Bayern in their build-up. However, Niko Kovac had different plans. Bayern outnumbered Schalke in their half using Corentin Tolisso and, alternatively, Thomas Muller. Pavard, Niklas Sule, and Lucas Hernandez formed the defensive line with Kimmich slightly ahead as the sole pivot. Alaba tucked in the left-half space alongside Kimmich.
To successfully bring the ball out from the back, Tolisso dropped deep to facilitate short passing options for Bayern. It created a six versus five in Bayern’s favour. Thus, the record champions could easily move the ball from their half to the mid and final thirds.
Bayern’s chemistry was another exciting aspect, worth highlighting, amongst its cavalry. Rekordmeister created plenty of chances and opened spaces through Schalke’s defense. The Rekordmeister used numerous vertical passing options to supply ball in the final third. Kimmich, Alaba, Tolisso, and Muller were the key members here. Their respective positioning in different horizontal and vertical zones created small triangular passing options for a smooth passage of the ball. The statistics uphold Bayern’s passing excellence. The visitors kept the ball for 66.3% of the time, with a passing accuracy of 88.2%. (Stats courtesy: One Football)
Moreover, the overlapping and underlapping exchange of movements was another weapon in Kovac’s arsenal. Serge Gnabry and Muller displayed this maneuver on the right-hand side of the park. This was a major success on the left-hand side. Tolisso’s constant movement to drop deep and surge forward forced Daniel Caliguiri to roam in the central and half-spaces. This gave Alaba the room to carry the ball from the left flank. Kingsley Coman was clever to invert and drag Jonjoe Kenny with him. This further opened space for Alaba to find Lewandowski, who then made a run in the space created by Coman on the left. As per WhoScored.com, 47% of Bayern’s attacks originated from the left side of the park.
To conclude, Bayern kept Schalke on their toes in the first half. The xG reflects Bayern’s domination. Bayern had a total xG tally of 1.03 compared with Schalke’s 0.04 in the first 45 minutes. Consequently, Die Knappen switched between a low and medium block to defend in a 4-4-2 formation. (Stats courtesy: Understat.com)