Talking Tactics: Bayern Munich face tricky challenge against Leverkusen

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Bayer Leverkusen celebrating against Bayern Munich. (Photo by Jörg Schüler/Getty Images) /

Rewind: Matchday 13 – Leverkusen’s central overload against Bayern Munich

As has been the case under Peter Bosz, Bayer Leverkusen used their compact structure with aplomb when they travelled to Allianz Arena in November. The visitors started the game in a 4-2-3-1 formation on paper. They used an aggressive man-oriented zonal pressing scheme to disrupt Bayern’s build-up deep in their half.

Bosz’s used a compact structure to block the central passing lanes for Bayern. Flick’s side was given a lot of room to move the ball in the wide areas. This was where Leverkusen used an aggressive pressing to regain possession. Whether arranged in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1, Leverkusen’s proximity was a key weapon to reduce the space for Bayern’s player in possession.

Moussa Diaby, who appeared on the left-wing space in the starting lineup, was deployed on the right flank. Alphonso Davies had a tough time dealing with Bundesliga’s second-fastest player. Diaby perfectly positioned himself in the right half-space between David Alaba and Davies to block any potential pass and covered this space using his speed.

Kevin Volland and Nadiem Amiri were the other two players alongside Diaby to lead the first wave of pressure. Rekordmeister struggled to progress the ball within the central zone that was blocked by Die Werkself. It was a good maneuver from Bosz to put pressure on Bayern as the reigning champions opted to play with a single pivot. Allianz Arena saw an unusual performance from Joshua Kimmich, who missed a partner in the midfield as Leon Goretzka was often seen in a bit advanced role alongside Thomas Muller.

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Peter Bosz seemed to have hit the nail right on the head with his tactics. Bayer Leverkusen traded their time on the ball for a good opportunity during offensive transitions. As a result, Die Roten recorded 74% possession on the ball during the match. Leverkusen generally pressed with a controlled momentum allowing Bayern to rotate the ball horizontally.

One of the triggers used by Leverkusen was to up the pressing tempo when Bayern were in a transition phase. Using their aggressive pressing and compactness, Leverkusen leveraged their speed in the wide areas to attack in a jiffy on the break. It was an apt squad selection and an organized defensive structure displayed from Bosz’s army. Nonetheless, there were a few sparks of hope when Bayern used numbers to drop deep and progress the ball.