In our previous article, we looked at the possible areas that Bayern Munich might be looking at to exploit FC Barcelona’s defense in the UEFA Champions League. Now it’s time to look at the opposite side of the same coin.
When Hansi Flick was appointed Bayern’s interim manager, he inherited a trial line of defense. Over the course of the season, the same evolved into one of the best and most dynamic defenses in the world. Part of the reason Flick’s team has scored so many goals is because of its backline’s involvement in setting up attacks.
Since the resumption, however, Bundesliga teams have applied some common patterns to exploit Bayern’s defense. To make matters worse, Benjamin Pavard suffered a setback from an injury in preparation for the Champions League. Not only did this remove a crucial defender from the system, it forced Joshua Kimmich to leave the midfield – a player who played a crucial part in Bayern’s fantastic Rückrunde from the center of the field.
In this part of the series, we analyze the possible ways in which Barcelona can set up attacks and how Hansi Flick can counter them:
Block Bayern’s creativity and increase their pivot
With Thiago and Kimmich Bayern used to dominate the whole match with the ball. But with Kimmich shifted to right-back, Bayern will have one player less in build-up.
Thiago Alcantara will be the focal point in the away game. But if Barcelona managed to block him, keeping the ball in the middle would be difficult for Bayern. This was especially evident when Liverpool entered the Allianz Arena in the second leg of Round 16 last season. With James Rodriguez not linking the defense and the offensive and Javi Martinez engaged in defensive duties, Bayern’s offensive creativity has suffered as Liverpool players have often put pressure on Thiago to return passports.
If Barcelona use their previous version of the 4-4-2, they will be able to outnumber ThiaGoretzka pivot. The Catalans will have a numerical advantage when printing as a build-up phase of the game.
Due to lack of true wingers in this formation, Barcelona adapted to create chances and score from the middle. They used positional plays and concentrated on the penetration of the defense from the center. Of Barcelona’s 63 assists in La Liga, only 6 were recorded as crosses. This is in stark contrast to Bayern’s style, as the Bavarians have conceded 22 goals through crosses, from 75 recorded assists.
Possible solution: Use the long balls of Beckenbauer Jr.
Hansi Flick and Bayern are blessed to have a modern free in David Alaba. For Barcelona to block Thiago, the players will have to come out and push. Bayern can then use Alaba to execute long balls to bypass Barcelona’s midfield and / or defense. Per FBref, Alaba recorded the highest progressive passing distance by an outfield player and boasted a long passing accuracy of 85% in Bundesliga.
Hansi Flick can take a leaf from Jupp Heynckes’ book and Alaba and Boateng have found Mullewandowski through covered balls. Back in 2013, Don Jupp adjusted his tactics and used long balls to wreak havoc on Barcelona. Hansi Flick also used diagonal long balls as part of his tactic.
Escape Bayern’s counterattack with long balls
Bayern’s counterattacks made it difficult for them to break through the middle and scored from the penalty spot. After regaining order and consulting his linesman, the referee called FC’s Hansi Flick to one side and produced a red card for the player. To overcome this, Bayern’s opposition often throws long balls to bypass Bayern’s press.
Unlike the first weakness, when Barcelona sit back and absorb pressure, they will have to feed Leo Messi and Luis Suarez with the top long balls.
Against Bayern, the long balls can be used to take advantage of the space between Alaba and Alphonso Davies. Hansi Flick gave Davies the freedom to attack as he left off. Son Heung-min, Jadon Sancho, Achraf Hakimi, Mason Mount and many more have suffered a similar fate under Davies. But this time, The roadrunner of FC Bayern will be against a superhuman. In fact, the space that Davies and Alaba serve is also Messi’s favorite part of the field.
Possible solution: Release FC Bayern Hulk.
As of now, Davies’ offensive contribution is too important to get away with. One notable thing that Real Madrid could achieve in El Clásico was the use of Casemiro to take Messi out of the game. Leon Goretzka may not be at Casemiro’s level, but because he uses his physicality and anticipation while defending, Flick can use his midfield buffet for cut passes and balloons for Messi.
Momentary ends and defense set pieces
The scorelines reflect this or not, but throughout the course of the game, Bayern’s defense observes momentary lapses. These were mainly seen against Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea. Perhaps Flick assumed that the defense was bound to be exposed because of the heavy demands of counterpressed.
Until now, the coach of the solution to this problem has been simple: “start again, attack and score”. But if the band turns out to be a close game like the game against Borussia Dortmund in the Rückrunde, clinical finishers like Messi, Suarez and Antoine Griezmann will punish Bayern for those runs in concentration.
Lately, Bayern’s opponents have managed to exploit Bayern’s weak defense on set pieces. Air quality is not a problem, as Bayern have a lot of air power in Boateng, Goretzka, Muller and Lewandowski. It is the lack of coordination that causes man-marking conflicts during corners.
Regardless of whether Barcelona choose or not to focus on scores from this particular area, Hansi Flick should work on confusing the players and assigning clear roles to each while defending corners.
The weaknesses in Bayern’s system exist, but they can be overcome. If the Bavarians manage to play with the same intensity, it will be difficult to overcome their counter-pressure. But if they lose focus, they will be punished ruthlessly, as they experienced in 2018 against Real Madrid.
In this one-off band, the two recent forms of FCB will be a much more decisive factor than their contrasting league campaigns. Bayern will have to deal with their most expensive opposition of the season by far. But if Hansi Flick’s side maintains the focus throughout the entire match, they should come away triumphant in this clash in the quarterfinals.
