Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona, two perennial UEFA Champions League hosts, will lock horns in a quarter-final clash on Friday. After eliminating their respective opponents Chelsea FC and SSC Napoli, both sides will have to travel to Lisbon, where they will beat each other in a “win as go home” tie.
The two FCBs have previously met in the quarter-finals of the 2008/09 league and the semi-finals of the 2012/13 and 2014/15 seasons. In all their previous meetings, the winner went on to win the Champions League trophy.
This time Bayern are joining forces with one of the best teams in Europe and a tactically robust system. For Barcelona, the GOAT Lionel Messi will dictate their game, but he is accompanied by an inferior supporting cast.
Over the course of the season, the Blaugrana defense has developed some brilliant weaknesses. Their backline, in particular, has not shown the necessary coherence. As a result, Hansi Flick will have the opportunity to exploit it with a creative attack. Let’s take a look at the ways in which Flick can penetrate through Barcelona’s defense.
Quick transition
On paper, Quique Setién puts his team in a 4-4-2 formation with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi ahead or, more recently, in a 4-4-2 with Messi as Antoine Griezmann completing the midfield diamond. A defensive midfielder, typically Sergio Busquets or Ivan Rakitic, defends her defensive line.
In both systems, Barcelona are often caught on the counter. They follow a man-oriented pressure scheme, but their counter-pressure is not as effective and rigid as Bayern’s. Their high line, combined with a lack of positional awareness, makes it easy for opponents to hit them on the battlefield.
Barcelona’s defense, on average, has scored a goal in La Liga every 90 minutes this season. In the attacking phase, Barca’s fullbacks leave big holes as they push forward. Then, as they chase the ball, they tend to go out of position, leaving space behind. Opponents often exploit these holes to make attacks with rapid transitions.
Bayern can use the wide areas of the field to beat Barcelona in the meantime. Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry are the obvious candidates for this job. When Coman and Gnabry were busy helping themselves in defense, Thomas Muller showed that he could initiate counterattacks by placing himself in the empty space on the wing.
Press against
Because of their tactical structure and defensive quality, Barcelona struggle to play from the back when they are under pressure. They often lose possession when the opposition pushes against them, forcing them to make mistakes or use long balls.
On account of their usual system, Barcelona often find themselves at the back and use Ter Stegen as an outlet to clear the ball. Real Madrid are not considered a typical counter-pressure side like Bayern or Leipzig, but in their Clásico win, Zinedane Zidane was able to exploit this weakness of Barcelona by having his team Barca in their half pressure.
Unfortunately for the Catalans, this Bayern team is one of the best counter-pressure teams in Europe. Hansi Flick’s men throw opponents in the middle of the field, forcing them to make mistakes and attack immediately when they regain possession. The Bavarian workhorse, Thomas Müller, presses like an enemy and points out to his teammates possible passing channels that they can block. The Bavarians exert as much as 47.8 pressure in the attacking third of the pitch per game, compared to Barca’s 33.4.
Off-the-ball movement
Bayern Munich players have a clear understanding of the gaps they need to fill in order to maintain their defensive structure – credit to their respective coaches Hansi Flick. That is not the case at Barcelona.
The core of Barcelona has shown a lack of positional awareness and coordination in their defensive third. Gerard Pique was the replacement. If Sergio Busquets does not close the gap quickly, it will put his team in great danger.
In the case of Bayern, this ‘space-filling’ is an ongoing and fluid process. In Barca’s case, players often miss the window in which such holes fill. As a result, the opposition can play around their defensive line.
Due to lack of coordination between center-backs and midfielders, half-spaces are another weakness that the Bavarians can exploit:
Once again Bayern’s Raumdeuter and his partner-in-crime Robert Lewandowski will be able to play a dangerous role here. The duo knows how to create and utilize space. They ran across the defensive line, creating space by attracting defenders, and connecting defense to crime with their one-touch flicks and positional play.
There is also one deadly group that has reunited on the right side of the field: Müller-Gnabry-Kimmich. The trio has excellent chemistry on the field and can break down defenses with their interaction. Kimmich’s interest in the midfield cannot be overstated, but with Benjamin Pavard unlikely to play, the German international will seek to make a difference from his former position, right back.
Blessed with Hansi Flick as coach, Bayern Munich will surely have a master plan to exploit Setién’s team. The weaknesses in Barcelona’s system are clear; with sharpness and hunger the Bavarian attackers would have to succeed in finding the back of it.
At the same time, however, it would be foolish to ignore some recurring patterns in which opponents have managed to break Bayern’s defense. Barcelona may not be at their former level, but their team still consists of a group of veterans who have the experience to step up in big games. They also have one of the greatest players in the history of football, a man who can change games by himself.
Whatever the outcome may be, the spectators are in for a treat.
