Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaway from 3-1 win against Augsburg
Bayern Munich delivered an impressive performance in their first home game in the Bundesliga this season with a comfortable 3-1-win vs Augsburg. The result means that after two match days, Bayern are yet to drop any points. From a tactical standpoint, Thomas Tuchel stayed true to Bayern’s ‘DNA’ with the tried and tested championship attacking 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, the German coach was forced to make one change from the season opener’s line-up, which resulted in an impressive 4-0 away win against Werder Bremen, with Jamal Musiala being ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
Somewhat surprisingly Tuchel used Leroy Sane as the number ten instead of Thomas Muller, to replace Musiala as the number ten, however, based on the results the coach can’t be faulted. Sane had a decent game. Muller came on for the last 20 minutes with Bayern already three goals up. The biggest tactical takeaway from the win against Augsburg was the midfield pivot.
Double Pivot Resurgence
Kane would likely get the ‘man of the match’ award for his brace, and deservedly so, even though, in the first half, he seemed a bit off the pace until he converted a penalty for Bayern’s second goal.
Early on Augsburg made it uncomfortable for the hosts by pressing and keeping it narrow in the middle of the park resulting in a rather scrappy opening few minutes. That pressure almost paid off for the visitors in minute 27 as it led to an error in Bayern’s defence, resulting in Ermedin Demirovic scuffing his shot wide from close range. Had that chance been converted the first goal of the match would have been scored by Augsburg.
However, over the course of the entire game, the performances of both Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka went a long way in neutralizing the opposition’s 4-2-2-2 formation.
Goretzka was great as the number eight covering lots of ground in the box-to-box role. In the 28th minute, he forced the Augsburg goalkeeper into action with a good attempt on the goal. Meanwhile, his box-to-box effectiveness came to the fore on the defensive end in the 52nd minute as he darted into his team’s penalty box to nudge the ball away from Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha as the attacker looked to shoot after brilliantly turning his marker. When he wasn’t attacking or defending Goretzka was busy dispossessing the opposition and winning back the ball with marked efficiency.
As for Kimmich, he displayed, for the most part, the spatial awareness required from model number six by ‘staying home’ as Goretzka supplemented the attack, and also by picking the right moments to go forward. His sense of timing when to go forward was evident with his shot in the 37th minute from outside the box, which eventually helped Die Roten to win a penalty and double their lead.
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With Tuchel having been desirous of bringing in a specialist number six and the arrival of Konrad Laimer, it was a pleasant sight, for all beneficiaries, to see Kimmich and Goretzka once again in unison. It’s now left to be seen whether or not the coach has fully endorsed the dynamic duo in the long run.