Pep Guardiola Reverts the Tactical Pyramid as Bayern Munich Outgun Koln

Bayern Munich extended their winning steak to four consecutive matches in the Bundesliga on Friday as they beat Koln 4-1 at the Allianz Arena.

Pep Guardiola's men rode a tidal wave of form into the fixture, having beaten Hamburg and Paderborn in their previous two league matches by a combined 14-0. Yet in a match that saw the Bavarians change tactical shape, their visitors provided substantial resistance and put up a real fight.

Friday's match began in a manner that made one expect another hammering. They went ahead through Bastian Schweinsteiger within three minutes and had two clear chances denied by a pair of outstanding saves before Franck Ribery made it 2-0 inside a quarter-hour.

Bayern were fully in control throughout the first half, with Guardiola's ultra-aggressive line-up and tactical changes working perfectly against a Koln side that entered the match with the Bundesliga's third-best defensive record.

The Spanish trainer had opted to use a formation that, based on the players on the pitch, may have initially been expected to be 4-1-4-1 but in reality looked more like 2-3-5, a throwback to the ultra-forward-minded game of the early and mid-20th century before the tactical "pyramid" was inverted and four- and five-man defenses became the norm.

On Friday, "full-backs" David Alaba and Rafinha played more centrally than natural wide defenders, working alongside Schweinsteiger in the center of the pitch.

An interesting effect was that with Juan Bernat on the bench, Alaba was the closest thing to a left-back that Bayern had, and he restored the outstanding partnership with Franck Ribery that once was Bayern's bread and butter. The pair showed that as great as Bernat has been, Alaba really is Bayern's best left-back, even if he's not often used there.

Tucking Rafinha and Alaba into central midfield did very well to limit Bayern's vulnerability on the counterattack, which if Schweinsteiger were the only holding midfielder, could have been significant. Yet Koln found their way back into the game and with better finishing may have drawn level after the break.

Anthony Ujah, the supremely quick striker who looked to be the visitors' only real threat going forward, scored with Koln's first real chance of the game, placing his header brilliantly inside the left post on the stroke of half-time.

Effzeh had a couple of chances to equalize after the break, but Manuel Neuer saved Bayern's blushes with a couple of superb saves, particularly his diving stop from Ujah at the end of a quick counterattack.

Bayern nearly being caught out was an unnecessary risk that directly resulted from tactics, with Slawomir Peszko finding space on the wing to attack before crossing to Ujah. Bayern's lack of full-backs left wide areas clear hunting grounds for the visitors, although Koln's lack of any significant quality in attacking midfield meant that their chances were severely limited.

Guardiola's plan for the game was quite clearly a full-throttle attack, and it indeed resulted in plenty of goals. Arjen Robben nodded in a Ribery cross to make it 3-1 before Robert Lewandowski chested the ball home from close range, sealing the 4-1 victory.

Although Bayern lined up more aggressively and got their goals, there were some conspicuous absentees in the game. Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze were nowhere to be found throughout the match, and Lewandowski only showed up to tap in after the score was 3-1.

As hard as Bayern have tried to revamp their squad and prepare for life after the "old guard," it was the likes of 30-plus-year-olds Robben, Schweinsteiger and Ribery who accounted for three of the four goals, with the wingers accounting for three assists. More players in attack didn't mean a diversity of sources of goals, and it didn't mean more goals scored.

Guardiola's tactics on Friday were interesting from an academic standpoint as he effectively managed to modify tactics from years past and employ them in the modern game. And his Bayern put four goals past one of the Bundesliga's strongest defenses.

Yet, the overall viability of the 2-3-5 is still uncertain considering how several attackers were mere passengers, and the tactical setup left acres of space that better teams could exploit. In short, Friday's result was an encouraging start for Guardiola's new tactics, but there is still refining to be done if they are to be relied upon in bigger games.

Mr_Bundesliga