Bayern Strikes
Fansided

Four key battles as Chelsea host Bayern Munich in CL

By Kiran Thakare

SINGAPORE - JULY 25: Marcos Alonso #3 of Chelsea FC and Kingsley Coman #29 of FC Bayern Muenchen competes for the ball during the International Champions Cup match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich at National Stadium on July 25, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC)
SINGAPORE - JULY 25: Marcos Alonso #3 of Chelsea FC and Kingsley Coman #29 of FC Bayern Muenchen competes for the ball during the International Champions Cup match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich at National Stadium on July 25, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
BOCHUM, GERMANY – OCTOBER 29: Jerome Boateng of FC Bayern Muenchen controls the ball during the DFB Cup second-round match between VfL Bochum and Bayern Muenchen at Vonovia Ruhrstadion on October 29, 2019, in Bochum, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
BOCHUM, GERMANY – OCTOBER 29: Jerome Boateng of FC Bayern Muenchen controls the ball during the DFB Cup second-round match between VfL Bochum and Bayern Muenchen at Vonovia Ruhrstadion on October 29, 2019, in Bochum, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Olivier Giroud vs Jerome Boateng

Die Roten have been conceded poor goals throughout the first half of the season. Hansi Flick has made sure that there is a drastic improvement in the back four during Ruckrunde. The results show that Bayern concede very few chances now and individual errors have also decreased in the past few weeks.

Jerome Boateng has been in the heart of the defense during this tenure. He is likely to be trusted to partner with David Alaba at Stamford Bridge. The German defender has been poor in the last two seasons, but he has managed to pick up some sort of momentum under Flick.

Boateng has struggled against fast forwards, but his main test against Chelsea will come against a solid target man in the form of Olivier Giroud. The French striker has been overlooked by Frank Lampard throughout the season due to the good form of Tammy Abraham. After failing to get a move away from the club in January, Giroud has delivered impressive performances in the last two games.

The Frenchman was impressive in the cameo against Manchester United and grabbed a goal against Tottenham Hotspurs on Saturday. Boateng will have to be strong in aerial duels with Giroud. Moreover, he will have to close him down well to stop him from linking up with other forwards. Boateng will not have the pace to worry about, so this clash will be very enticing to watch later tonight.