Tactical analysis: Bayern’s fringe players struggle in Gladbach stalemate

It was hard for Bayern München to implement their tactical plan against astute Gladbach on Saturday as Pep Guardiola started squad players.

Sebastian Rode, Serdar Tasci, Rafinha, Mario Götze, Medhi Benatia started the game as many players from Bayern’s regular XI were given a rest ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg.

Formation

The Catalan coach opted for back-three and wing-backs. Jérôme Boateng started after almost three months out due to injury. He was at the centre of defence alongside Tasci and Benatia. Juan Bernat and Rafinha were wing-backs.

Rode and Kimmich started together as the central midfield pair. Rode had a box-to-box role while the latter stayed deep to build from back. The front three were Thomas Müller, Götze and Coman.
The basic idea was to play a 3-4-3 or 5-2-3 to negate the same formation used by Gladbach.

Numbers game on the pitch

Both the teams were playing the same formation and with the same philosophy. Borussia’s forwards André Hahn, Thorgan Hazard and Raffael were up against the Bayern back three. At the other end, Bayern’s forward line was against Gladbach’s back three. It was a tactical stalemate. Hence, individual quality was needed to make the difference.
In the following picture, there is always one player or two to cover opponent’s players in every position.

Players cancelling out the opponents in numbers

Central midfield players on both teams were always close to each other, making playmaking easy as well pressing more efficient. This characteristic was the central idea behind Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern with Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez. Also, something which was implemented and perfected by Lucian Favre with Borussia. The screenshot shows how close Rode-Kimmich are, as well as Granit Xhaka-Mahmoud Dahoud.
Staying close.

The first goal came through a set-piece. Müller made a late run near the far post and connected with a weak header. However, Serdar Tasci’s attempt to reach the ball confused Jan Sommer and it went in.
Bayern did struggle till the early goal, as the Startelf was rather a rotation squad. It took time to adjust. After the first goal, confidence was high and chances were created by individual plays.

In 10^th minute, the defending Champions countered and Coman took on two players. He passed to Rafinha, who sent it to a free Bernat on the left. However, Bernat was not able to get past the only man in the way. Ibrahima Traoré, Borussia’s right wing-back, dispossessed Bernat very well.

In the first half, there were many situations where Götze dropped back behind Xhaka and Dahoud to receive the ball behind the midfield. Gladbach quickly got many men behind the ball to put it out of danger.
Götze finds space in front of the defence.

Second half changes

Gladbach coach André Schubert made two changes around the hour-mark. Hazard and Traoré made way for Lars Stindl and Patrick Herrmann. Elvedi moved to right-back position and Bayern did create some pressure for a couple of minutes. They had one more man in offence than the Gladbach defence.

This created the only volatile period in the game. Bayern made similar changes with adjustments at the back. Miscommunication ensued and Gladbach scored in the 72^nd minute. The screenshot shows how Bayern’s defence was all over the place.

The remaining game was not very entertaining as both the teams adjusted again and tactically cancelled each other out. Pep fielded his team according to opponent’s tactics like the game in midweek against Atlético Madrid. It will be very interesting to see what tactics he adapts in the semifinal second leg. He seems to be taking a backfoot in his “All-in attacking approach” towards the end of his Bayern career.

CREDIT TO:http://www.bayerncentral.com/2016/04/gladbach-1-1-ruckrunde16-tactical-analysis/