Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
Manchester City dramatically beat Bayern Munich late on in their Champions League Group E clash to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive.
Sergio Aguero had given the home side a 21st-minute lead from the spot after Mehdi Benatia had been sent off for bringing him down. Bayern went in at half-time with a 2-1 lead, though, after goals from Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski prior to the interval.
Manuel Pellegrini's team struggled to break their opponents down in the second half and looked to have run out of ideas. Then an 85th-minute mistake from Alonso handed City a lifeline. Stevan Jovetic intercepted the Spaniard's pass and sent Aguero through on goal to score.
The same combination then capitalised on poor control from Jerome Boateng, and the Argentinian sealed a 3-2 win for the Premier League champions. Read on for some lessons learned from a thrilling night of European football.
Jovetic Can Be a Difference-Maker for City in the Champions League
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Sergio Aguero will understandably grab the headlines for his heroic hat-trick in what could prove to be a game-changing win for Manchester City (more on which later).
The Argentinian has netted 17 goals for his team this season. He has led the way for them in rampant victories and dramatic rescue jobs even prior to this one. There is arguably not a better out-and-out striker in world football than the 26-year-old right now.
As good as he was, on this occasion Aguero will be thankful for the assistance of Stevan Jovetic.
Prior to the Montenegrin's 66th-minute arrival, Man City were struggling for ideas in the face of a disciplined and oppressive Bayern defence. Following his introduction, Jovetic immediately injected some positivity to his proceedings and nearly sent his strike partner through on goal within minutes.
Truthfully, Jovetic's most telling contributions might not have come about without the mistakes of Alonso and Boateng. Yet, that he was in a position to take advantage of these slip-ups was testament to the 25-year-old's desire to help turn this one around.
"86. @stevanj35 picks up the stray ball and sends @aguerosergiokun on his way to finish brilliantly! Is there a grandstand finish on the way?
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) November 25, 2014"
Because of injury and Pellegrini sometimes preferring others, Jovetic has not been able to consistently perform to the standard he would like. If he can stay fit and is given chances, this display was further proof of his calibre at this level, and evidence of his ability to make a difference.
Back in September 2009 he scored twice as Fiorentina beat Liverpool 2-0 in the Champions League group stage. Later that season he netted another brace that saw La Viola almost see off Bayern to reach the quarter-finals.
Tuesday night showed he could be just as influential for Man City. Starting him in their group decider against Roma should be a good place to really start.
Bayern Have Work to Do Shoring Up Their Defence
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In his tactical preview of the game, Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe suggested Man City's best bet of hurting Bayern Munich was out wide. Tighe pointed to City having some success there in previous meetings, and Bayern having something of a weak spot to attacks originating or peaking in these areas.
Despite the 4-0 win at home to Hoffenheim on the weekend being relatively comfortable, there was evidence to support this. Prior to Pep Guardiola's side taking the lead, Kevin Volland had lofted a pass to Tarik Elyounoussi high and wide left in plenty of space. The Norwegian was allowed time by Rafinha to pick out Anthony Modeste in the box, and the striker should have put the visitors 1-0 up.
Adam Szalai had a similar chance after Hoffenheim had struck down the right when Bayern were leading 2-0. Given how well Man City attacked Bayern down the flanks in the first half you suspect Pellegrini and his coaching staff were paying close attention.
Jesus Navas caused early problems for Juan Bernat, both inside and outside of the right-back. On the opposite wing, Gael Clichy was dangerously left unchecked. Aguero, Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri also looked to link up and isolate Bayern's defenders here.
Bayern going down to 10 men after Benatia's sending-off eventually led to them becoming more cautious in these wide areas. Moving forward, though, it will be intriguing to see if Guardiola can compromise his instinct to get his team constantly attacking the wings with the need to prepare for the threat potential latter-stage opponents like Chelsea and Real Madrid could provide here.
"#Pep: "We may have lost the game but I am very proud of my team. The players didn't deserve to lose today." #MCFCFCB
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) November 25, 2014"
Despite his positive spin on Munich's overall performance, the Spaniard will definitely be keen for his players to improve their concentration. Alonso's giveaway prior to Aguero's second was uncharacteristic, as was Boateng's poor touch from Jovetic's flick-on in the build-up to City's winner.
Nonetheless, with the knowledge that implementing his adventurous brand of football at this level carries such high risks, Guardiola will want his team to minimise the possibility of costly mistakes creeping further into their play.
Initial Bayern Changes Worked, but Guardiola Has to Be Careful with Subs
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With David Alaba and Philipp Lahm getting injured since Bayern's last Champions League game, Guardiola knew there was some sense to making at least a couple of concessions in resting other first-teamers. After all, they are already through to the last 16.
He dropped Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller from the side that beat Hoffenheim. In their place came Pierre Hojbjerg and Sebastian Rode.
There was little let-up in the quality of Bayern's play, despite the introduction of the less-experienced midfielders. The 19-year-old Dane was a tad quieter, but steady enough helping things tick over. Rode was lively from the off, almost giving his side the lead after being sent through on goal by Arjen Robben (Joe Hart got out quickly to save).
The smoothness of the transition further underlined the depth of options available to Guardiola, the enviable ability to call on a reliable next man up. Bleacher Report contributor Guillem Balague was effusive of his praise of Bayern's early work.
"Bayern: it doesnt matter the result tonight. The movement, the passing, the positioning. Football of another level/age
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) November 25, 2014"
Benatia's sending-off meant Rode's unfortunate withdrawal, with Dante coming on to fill the void in defence. Bar the initially continued spell, post-penalty, where Manchester City took the upper hand, Bayern again took control and looked like they would safely leave with the three points.
Again, while the catalyst for City's late comeback was the mistakes Bayern made, the situations that led to them was partly caused by Guardiola a little unnecessarily messing with the formula.
The decision to bring on Xherdan Shaqiri and Bastian Schweinsteiger was obviously done with the good intention of replacing the well-worked legs of Lewandowski and Ribery respectively. However, it left Bayern without a focal point up-front, and a little confusion further behind.
Not a major problem for the German club, then, but something to keep in mind for the future.
Man City Need to Show They Have Learned from Champions League Experiences
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The win over Bayern Munich gives Manchester City a chance to prove something that looked in doubt for a large part of Tuesday's game: that they are learning from their Champions League experiences.
Despite becoming a fixture in the competition's group stage, there had been little to suggest so far in this campaign their previous failed attempts of mounting a deep run had taught them much.
The defeat to CSKA Moscow earlier this month was arguably the nadir of this lack of development in European football. They were undisciplined, unimaginative and well below par in every department.
Even accounting for Bayern not being as wholly urgent as they might have been had their own progression still been at stake, the persistence and heart City showed bodes well for a timely and telling improvement.
They have to prove in Rome next month this is no false dawn. Though reliant on Bayern keeping CSKA at bay, the Premier League side will be keen to finish off 2014 showing they can excel at this level.
Ideally Aguero will continue his great form. But they will need Jovetic and Navas to remain positive, Frank Lampard just as creative and Vincent Kompany as alert as he (largely) was.
Pellegrini is confident of his players' ability to do what is needed and get close to realising their potential in Europe. He told his club's official website post-match:
"I can assure you that this kind of victory gives a lot of trust to the whole squad, so it was very important at this moment to do it. We will see what happens in the next round.
I said last week if we have a mathematical chance to qualify then we will fight to the end and that is what we have been doing so far. It is important for us to do our duty and then we will see what happens in the other game.
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