Talking Tactics- Chelsea vs Bayern Munich

Attacking Phase

Chelsea tends to use a 4-1-4-1 formation to defend. They use a medium block to press from an advanced position. Tammy Abraham could be seen applying pressure from the front. The other midfielders will lock themselves in the middle of the park.

The Blues favour a soft pressing technique. They aim for covering space on every patch of the midfield. Frank Lampard’s side will increase the pressing intensity on certain triggers. A common one is a situation when a pass is played to wide areas. Chelsea will charge heavily on such triggers to hem the opposition on the touchline. This is a plausible technique and allows very little space for the opponents to move the ball.

This is exactly where Bayern can gain an advantage. The target area should be the space in behind Chelsea’s right back. Serge Gnabry and  Thomas Muller must place themselves in half-space behind Robert Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman. Thus, Bayern should build the attack in a 2-4-2-2 formation. The core idea will be to lure Chelsea into a pressing maneuver and create space in the center zone.

Die Roten can rotate the ball to the right side, using Manuel Neuer as the link-up player. The next move will be to soak pressure and release a pass in the center to Gnabry who would drop deep. Muller would be responsible to engage Jorginho in the right-half space. The ensuing pass will aim to find Lewandowski in the space behind Reece James.

Alternatively, Bayern can utilize Muller on the left. This time Bayern will build in a 2-4-1-3. Gnabry will drop deep in the left-half space. Bayern shall, thus, aim for overloading the left side. Abraham, Mount, and Willian would charge for covering the space. Alphonso Davies shall then have two options to pass the ball. The Canadian can use Muller on the touchline as the target man to find Gnabry. If Willian decides to cover Muller’s path, then Davies will have a clear channel to feed Gnabry. Hence, Bayern can overload the left flank in a three versus two scenarios and progress the ball forward. A similar technique was used by Manchester United when they won two-nil against Chelsea last week.

Lampard is also fond of using a 4-4-2 to defend. The idea here, yet again, is to exploit Reece James’s high position on the pitch. Hansi Flick should use a 3-2-3-2 formation to build the attack. The ideology is to entice Chelsea to press, and thus, create space in the middle zone. Bayern can outnumber Chelsea with five against two in their half. Progressing the ball via quick vertical passing should then be an easy task. It can either be achieved through a defensive midfielder as the link-up option or via Neuer. Essentially, Bayern must aim for outnumbering Chelsea on the left flank to create an overload.