Bayern Munich have been the most formidable attacking side in Europe this season. They’ve already scored 100 league goals, 20 more than any other team across the continent’s top five domestic leagues.
And while an obvious caveat is that the German Bundesliga doesn’t always offer the most challenging fixtures for Bayern, they appear capable of blowing away the best sides in the Champions League, too. Their 2-1 quarter-final first leg win against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday was a perfect showcase of what Bayern are all about.
In particular, it showed the contrast with their opponents.
Madrid boast two world-class attackers in Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, and their raw quality produced several good chances on the night. But there was, not for the first time, a sense that they were disconnected from the rest of their team — literally, in a positional sense, and also in their status at the Spanish club. The perception is that those two do as they please and Madrid’s other eight outfielders have to balance them out by providing the discipline and the running.
Bayern were far more cohesive. That is no surprise.
The more interesting thing is how they played completely differently away yesterday than they did in the previous round’s first leg away to Atalanta. In Italy, they faced a side built on strict man-marking, so Bayern rotated positions to drag their opponents around, and then played through them with ease. Their 6-1 win that night is arguably the best performance of this Champions League season.
Tuesday’s victory wasn’t quite as resounding on the scoreboard, but it was an outstanding game and Bayern were its better side. Their approach was different to the one in Bergamo — less about fluidity, more about fixed positions. In particular, throughout the first half, Michael Olise was very tight to the right touchline and free for switches of play. Luis Diaz similarly stayed wide on the opposite flank.
In between, Serge Gnabry played as the central attacking midfielder but often dropped deep to receive passes from the centre-backs, while Harry Kane, as ever, was operating as a cross between a No 9 and a No 10.
This all made sense. Bayern were likely to thrive in these duels.
Olise, Europe’s most terrifying dribbler at the moment, caused Madrid left-back Alvaro Carreras problems all night. Over on the visitors’ left, Diaz was more about off-ball runs in behind his old Liverpool team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold. Both Bayern wingers naturally want to cut inside onto their stronger foot, and therefore Madrid’s central defenders were forced to cover behind their respective full-backs. Partly as a consequence, Gnabry and Kane often went unmarked in deeper positions.
Bayern’s two goals offer a good example of how they functioned.
When Vincent Kompany’s side won the ball high up ahead of the first goal, Gnabry and Kane were completely free in midfield. This was, in part, because they were attentive to their defensive duties. If the situations here were reversed, Vinicius Jr and Mbappe might have been 20 yards higher up the pitch and walking back. That might allow a direct through ball in-behind, but there’s also value in two players between the lines, and Gnabry is available for a pass from Olise.
As Gnabry receives the ball, Diaz — on the near side — is presumably licking his lips at the space inside Alexander-Arnold…
… and initially seems set to sprint into the channel, as Gnabry shifts possession on to Kane in the centre. (On the far side, incidentally, Carreras is checking over his shoulder, scared that Olise will run in behind him.)
But as Kane knocks the ball back to Gnabry, Diaz has taken advantage of Alexander-Arnold’s narrow positioning to jump to the outside, putting him on the right-back’s blind side.
Alexander-Arnold can do little to stop the pass or properly track the run. Also note that Carreras has been so concerned with Olise that he has dropped three yards deeper than the rest of the Madrid back line — a common problem when the wide attackers are the ones running in behind.
Diaz races through and finishes calmly.
The second goal is entirely different, but it was another example of Bayern’s approach.
Again, the move starts with Olise down the right, but this time dribbling slowly inside.
With Madrid’s defenders all drawn to the movement of other players, Kane is left in a huge amount of space on the edge of the box.
The Bayern No 9 is clearly begging for the pass from Olise, who plays the ball slowly enough for Kane to be able to shoot with his first touch.
The finish is controlled and precise, although goalkeeper Andrii Lunin could have done better.
This was what Bayern were all about last night. The wingers stayed high, thrived in one-versus-one battles and offered running in behind. The two central attackers played deeper and received the ball between the lines to create and to score.
Their performance was not perfect. Dayot Upamecano made several errors as Mbappe and Vinicius Jr attacked on the right of Bayern’s defence, and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was forced into being the game’s outstanding individual.
But Bayern’s ability to execute a cohesive, well-crafted game plan makes them strong favourites to progress to the semi-finals from the second leg a week today.
