Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Guardiola Edges a Tight Tactical Duel
Bayern Munich secured a last-gasp victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, with former Citizen Jerome Boateng netting a 90th-minute winner after a melee in the box.
Pep Guardiola and Ruben Cousillas were locked in an intense tactical duel throughout the match, adjusting and tweaking to try and get the upper hand, but predictably, the former prevailed.
Here's a tactical look at how the match played out.
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Formations and XIs
Bayern Munich began in a 3-4-3 formation, playing David Alaba as a left centre-back, Xabi Alonso paired with Philipp Lahm in midfield and Thomas Muller off the right-hand side.
Manchester City lined up in a 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1 shape, with David Silva in the No. 10 role off Edin Dzeko. Yaya Toure returned to the XI, and Jesus Navas started on the right once again.
Dominant Bayern
Bayern controlled the opening 15 minutes with ease, dominating possession and testing every area of Manchester City's formation.
Neat link-up play saw Muller miss a golden chance inside the first minute, Lahm helped Bayern overload the right-hand side with Rafinha, and Robert Lewandowski acted as a "needle player" for tight-knit chances outside the box.
City, and in particular Dzeko, saw little of the ball early on as they set up two deep banks of four to try and nullify Bayern's ballplayers. Xabi Alonso put on a masterclass in the middle, but his passing lacked punch as the City formation choked the pitch.
Lahm vs. Fernandinho
As Bayern moved through the gears and worked the openings, Lahm became the go-to passing outlet from right central midfield.
Easy passes into him from Alonso, Boateng and Mehdi Benatia allowed him to turn, 35 yards from goal, and attempt to pick the lock.
He set Rafinha off for a few dangerous crosses, picked up on Muller's clever runs inward and fed balls into Lewandowski's feet. His passing, as always, was crisp, accurate and risk-free.
City needed to do something about it.
The response was excellent, with Cousillas instructing Fernandinho to move into a man-marking role on Lahm and stop receiving free possession so close to goal. He allowed the German the ball deep in his own territory (so as not to break the bank of four) but clamped him whenever he strayed too close.
Switching to 4-3-3
Within eight minutes of Fernandinho nullifying Lahm, Guardiola changed formation to a 4-3-3. Benatia and Boateng became a two-man partnership, Rafinha and Juan Bernat became full-backs and David Alaba moved into central midfield.
The Austrian played as the most attacking of the three, driving forward in Angel Di Maria-esque fashion to breach the No. 10 space. A lack of presence there had been plaguing Bayern, and when Lahm got shut down, the 3-4-3 had become toothless.
Alaba began bombing forward and causing chaos, picking up stray balls and giving the City centre-backs something else to worry about. Before, Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis shared Lewandowski and had no runners to plan for; now, with Alaba hitting the edge of the box, their responsibilities split.
The result was yet more dominance for Bayern, a few dangerous shots from Alaba saved and more missed chances for Muller and Lewandowski.
City's 4-2-3-1
In the second half City got stronger, with James Milner subbing in for Samir Nasri and creating a systematic adjustment.
The 4-4-1-1 became a 4-2-3-1; the difference is minimal on paper, but the introduction of a defensive midfield duo behind a No. 10 in Yaya Toure pushed the wingers right forward and enabled them to press.
Jesus Navas' quickness and David Silva's agility was used to harry Manuel Neuer's passes out from the back, and they soon forced errors out of Benatia and Boateng in dangerous areas. They also quelled the service into Alonso, who launched less and less attacks as City's hold on the game tightened.
Sergio Aguero was brought on to add even more speed to the press, and in response, Guardiola swapped the profligate Muller for Arjen Robben.
The Dutchman's introduction swung the game back in favour of the home side, and he began rinsing Gael Clichy on the left and penetrating the penalty box from the right.
Die Bayern ended the match in a 4-4-2, or perhaps a 4-2-4, with Claudio Pizarro, Dante and Boateng all in the box causing chaos from crosses. Aleksandar Kolarov came on as a second left-back to try and hold out on Robben's flank.
While the physical presence of four monsters undoubtedly helped cause the winning strike, it was perhaps Lahm's move to right-back that told most significantly, with it being his stand-up cross that fashioned the final chance.
Final Word
Guardiola's reaction to Boateng's goal said everything: This is an ultra-competitive group, and with Roma putting five past CSKA Moscow, the Italian capital club will be ready and willing to put another dent in the Citizens' challenge.
The drab performance of Yaya Toure is a big concern; he's been the worst player in City blue so far this season by a distance, and he tends to look truly awful when he's not fit. Fernandinho was fantastic in the engine room, doing the job of two people.
Spare a thought for Joe Hart also, who made a ridiculous number of saves before being beaten late on by a deflection.
