Talking Tactics: FC Cologne vs Bayern Munich

Rewind: Matchday 5 – Bayern’s Switch-Play and Overload

There was an evident reason that allowed Bayern to dictate the game. Achim Beierlorzer used a 4-2-3-1 formation. Jhon Cordoba was given the responsibility to press from the front. Cologne’s tactic here was to defend from a medium block in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

Niko Kovac designed a 2-3-2-3 structure, which stemmed from their default 4-3-3 formation. The build-up was, therefore, an easy task for Bayern. Die Roten could comfortably play through Cologne’s pressure. The hosts outnumbered the Billy Goats in their half. This move also saw Philippe Coutinho dropping deep to facilitate the build-up. Whenever Cologne used an additional player to raid Bayern’s half, Coutinho dropped deep. As a result, Bayern always found them in surplus to build the attack from the back.

The above scenario was the catalyst in Bayern’s switch-play. The Bavarians found space through Cologne’s medium block using their switch-play. Building the attack against a single striker, pressing from the front, was never a real challenge for the hosts. Thus, Bayern invited pressure from Cologne’s medium block to disrupt their structure. They moved the ball on one side of the pitch only to turn the direction to the other side. This is where their midfield proximity of Joshua Kimmich, Corentin Tolisso, and Coutinho proved crucial. Bayern’s midfielders allowed a smooth passage of the ball to the other side with slick short passing combinations.

Speaking of Bayern’s midfielders, Coutinho and Tolisso deserve special plaudits here. The Brazilian operated as a link-up option collecting the ball from the back and supplying it forward. Coutinho’s movement to drop deep played an important role in creating space for Kimmich to surge forward and feed Robert Lewandowski to open the scoring. Tolisso, on the other hand, split passing lanes and helped Bayern in creating an overload on the left flank. The Frenchman was used as a classic box-to-box player. He clocked 95 touches throughout the game. (Stats courtesy: WhoScored.com)

The overload was a byproduct of Bayern’s innate pressing technique and proximity in the center. When out of possession, Bayern used a compact structure to cover the center and half-spaces. The intention behind this strategy was to force Cologne in playing passes on the wings. Tolisso, Ivan Perisic, and Lucas Hernandez effectively overloaded the left flank to deal with Kingsley Ehizibue’s speed. A similar approach was deployed on the right-hand side by Serge Gnabry, Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard.