Why Xabi Alonso Red Card May Prove Champions League Blessing for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich had a false start in their race to the 2015 Champions League final on Tuesday when they were held to a scoreless draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.

Just three days after hammering Hamburg 8-0 in Munich, the visitors’ form matched the bitter cold of the Lviv night as they were not only goalless but held to just one attempt on target and five overall.

Bayern entered Tuesday’s match as heavy favorites, according to Odds Shark. Pep Guardiola’s confidence was more measured; the trainer showed caution with a rather conservative lineup that included no true striker and four defensive players in midfield.

It was the first instance of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xabi Alonso starting alongside one another in the Champions League, their combination having drawn more than a few skeptically raised brows in recent weeks.

Despite a recent victory over Stuttgart, the Schweinsteiger-Alonso partnership (which was not on show in Saturday's great win against Hamburg, in which Alonso was dropped) has been rather controversial. The pair have similar qualities and historically have played with more or less the same function when in possession, commanding the buildup from deep areas.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Since football is a game played with just one ball, there’s little need for two such players on the pitch at the same time unless one can adopt other responsibilities. Guardiola has tried using Schweinsteiger in a somewhat more advanced role, but the 30-year-old hasn’t proven suitable going forward, as Toni Kroos once did. He’s redundant in deep areas and out of his element higher up the pitch.

Regardless of whether the trainer desires to stick to his guns or shake things up with a fresh look in his midfield, Guardiola will be forced to break up the Schweinsteiger-Alonso combination in the second leg in Munich.

The Spaniard was sent off midway through the second half after bringing down Taison, who had burst past three Bayern players a moment before.

It was a disappointing way for the 33-year-old to commemorate his 100th Champions League appearance. He’ll miss the second leg, and Guardiola will have to decide whether to partner Schweinsteiger with David Alaba or Sebastian Rode—or even add an extra attacking player to his lineup.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Guardiola tried a 4-1-4-1 formation to limited effect last season, with the lone holding midfielder tactic proving effective in domestic competitions but exposed in the Champions League. That perhaps can explain his willingness to use Alonso and Schweinsteiger together: Defensively, they would seem to provide a bit more stability in the middle of the pitch.

Yet Schweinsteiger and Alonso were booked a combined three times on Tuesday. Neither has ever been noted for pace, and with both the wrong side of 30, they can’t be compared to the rock-solid partnership Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern featured with Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez paired in the center of the pitch.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

In 2012-13, Martinez was comfortable playing without the ball, screening the defense and moving freely in midfield. His sheer size and athleticism were phenomenal and perfectly complemented the defensively adept but slower Schweinsteiger.

With Martinez sidelined all season with a knee injury and still needing some time before his return (let alone his readiness to play at the highest level) Guardiola’s options are surprisingly limited. The trainer can look forward to the returns of Thiago Alcantara and Philipp Lahm in the next month or so, but like Martinez, both players have gone months or more without playing.

Rode is still raw and untested in Champions League knockout play, and promoting Alaba to midfield would alter the function of the Bayern defense. Simply put, it’s a trickier situation for Guardiola to negotiate than one may suspect, yet the loss of Alonso for the second leg will force him out of his comfort zone and force the team to evolve.

At present, there must be legitimate doubts as to whether Bayern can win the Champions League with Alonso and Schweinsteiger paired in midfield.

An effective solution is anything but obvious, but Guardiola is a footballing genius who has pulled more than one rabbit out of his hat during his coaching career. Forced to experiment, the trainer could yet strike tactical gold.

If so, he may well look back at Alonso’s sending-off as a blessing in disguise.

The best teams always find a way to turn a negative like the performance in Lviv into a positive, and for Bayern, that positive can surely be found in the tactical changes the trainer will be forced to make. The question is: Will Guardiola deliver?

Time will tell, but he wouldn't be a two-time Champions League winner if he couldn't negotiate the task at hand.

@Mr_Bundesliga