Pep Guardiola Has Reverted to Familiar Tactical Flaws at Bayern Munich

Pep Guardiola is universally recognized in the football world as a great coach, one of—if not superlatively—the very best in today's game. He's a visionary, one who has the intelligence to dissect a game and who commands the unwavering respect of nearly every player he manages. But like every human, Guardiola has his shortcomings. For the Spaniard, it's his stubbornness and perhaps vanity that, when he falls short of glory, usually get in the way.

Guardiola's vices were on full display on Tuesday as Bayern Munich beat CSKA Moscow at the Arena Khimki. At face value, the result was a success: It was a win away from home that set the German giants two points ahead of Roma in Champions League Group E and maintained their perfect record. Not bad especially for a Bayern side that was without several top stars, including Franck Ribery, Thiago Alcantara and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Looking beyond the result, however, some less savory details are revealed. The general international media response to Bayern's win was lukewarm, with Goal.com's Enis Koylu labeling the result "lucky." Bild's headline read simply, "Bayern win without spectators and with false penalty," alluding to Mario Fernandes having conceded the game-winning penalty with a foul outside the box. After appearing to have adjusted his approach earlier in the campaign, Guardiola appeared to revert to the same tactics that were exposed for their weaknesses throughout last season's Champions League campaign.

With Roma having put five goals past CSKA a fortnight prior and the home-field advantage effectively eliminated with spectators banned for racism, many had expected a rout. But although the match started well enough with Thomas Muller converting a penalty on 22 minutes, Bayern made few chances and conceded more than enough to lose the match. And their struggles came with the overwhelming impression that it was all avoidable with the right tactics.

Less than two months after having been quoted by AS (h/t ESPN) as saying "I hate tiki-taka," and after having seemingly moved towards a more balanced system that emphasizes quicker transitions and more vertical play, Bayern played in the ultimate Guardiola style in Moscow. UEFA.com cites Bayern as having completed a mind-blowing 864 of 926 attempted passes, earning 73 percent of the possession. Their slow build-up and careful, precision passing ensured that the ball would not be given away easily. It also made possession their only line of defense and, predictably, CSKA were dangerous with their 27 percent of the ball.

Ahmed Musa was a constant threat to the Bayern defense, he and Georgi Milanov missing out on good opportunities with the score still 0-0. After the visitors went ahead, Musa exploded past Mehdi Benatia and was first to a very hopeful long ball. The 21-year-old was unable to finish due to a brilliant save from Manuel Neuer, and Zoran Tosic similarly was unable to convert from the rebound. Later, Roman Eremenko hit the bar with a free-kick conceded by an unusually frazzled Philipp Lahm.

Bayern's defensive struggles were entirely predictable to even the most elementary football tactician. Guardiola's formation was more 2-3-4-1 than anything else, with nearly the entire team playing in the attacking half. The two defenders he chose, Benatia and Dante, are noted for their lack of pace. So when used high up the pitch, it was inevitable that the forward nicknamed "The Rocket" would turn on the afterburners and find space between the defenders and goalkeeper. One can only wonder why the much quicker Jerome Boateng was left on the bench.

When not camped out in the final third, Bayern found themselves frantically scrambling to avoid being hit on the counterattack. Just two defenders to cover the breadth of the pitch is a recipe for disaster against any club with any presence out wide, and Bayern's forwards seemed reluctant to sprint back to provide cover.

It should be no mystery that Guardiola's extreme tactics leave his club suspect in defense; they were exposed in last season's Champions League. And although notably Danny Welbeck, then of Manchester United, was unable to finish, Bayern's luck eventually ran out. Cristiano Ronaldo squandered a gilt-edged opportunity on the break in the first leg of the semi-final, but Karim Benzema made no mistake in finishing a quick transition with a goal. In the second leg, Bayern were ripped apart on the counter: At 0-0, Neuer had to desperately come off his line only to leave Gareth Bale with an open goal to shoot at. Later, Ronaldo finished a break that resulted in this meme.

Following Bayern's Champions League struggles and unconvincing performance in the DFB-Pokal final, it looked as though Guardiola had finally learned his lesson: Pure possession-based football was not the right way forward for Bayern. Guardiola admitted after the Real debacle (per Bundesliga.com): "There's no valid argument for my system following this result," although he admitted "I can't change what I feel, I like to play with the ball."

As he did in his first press conference after taking the Bayern post in 2013, Guardiola reiterated in August (h/t Goal.com) that he would have to be pragmatic: "I have to adapt to my players, I can't play like I want," he said. "We can't talk about the tactics without the skills of my players; that is the most important thing: to analyze their talent, their mentality and after to make an agreement together so in that way it is the best for the team and for these players."

The departure of passing wizard Toni Kroos and signing of counterattacking king Robert Lewandowski suggested a change in tactics. Guardiola then denounced tiki-taka and started to play with a 3-4-3 formation, the most vertically symmetrical tactical shape in football and one that, if used correctly, would allow the forwards to stay high and look to hit opponents on the counter.

All that has changed as of late, as Guardiola has reverted to the same tactics that first earned him fame and recognition: Possession football that borders on the suicidal. An image (via 101greatgoals.com) that recently caused quite a stir on social media shows Guardiola next to a tactics board depicting his goalkeeper at the edge of the center circle with all his defenders at least 15 yards into the attacking half. Another image shows that exact tactical setup being used against Koln. So much for Guardiola being a changed man.

Bayern beat CSKA on Tuesday, but the manner in which they did so was entirely unconvincing. The Bavarians' individual class dwarfed that of their opponents. And indeed, it will continue to do so on a regular basis in the Bundesliga and even in many Champions League matches, in which any tactical deficiencies will be covered by the massive gulf in talent between the German giants and their opponents.

With Guardiola having reverted to his previous, idealistic tactical approach, however, another monumental capitulation is entirely foreseeable. CSKA couldn't take their chances, but one would expect Real, Chelsea or Barcelona to have a field day breaking away and taking on the Bayern defense in one-on-one situations.

For a team containing six world champions and that reached the Champions League final in three out of four seasons before the most recent, the goal has to be to be crowned European champions for a sixth time in their history. It's a goal that is entirely within reach, but may only be attainable if Guardiola swallows his pride and keeps his word on adapting his tactics to best suit his players.

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