Bayern Munich have progressed to the semi-final of the Champions League, beating Real Madrid 4-3 at the Allianz Arena, winning 6-4 on aggregate.
Real Madrid started fast, capitalising on a Manuel Neuer mistake to make it 1-0 after just 35 seconds.
Despite Bayern hitting back quickly from a set-piece, making it 1-1 after just six minutes, the two sides exchanged goals once more. Kylian Mbappe netted in the 42nd minute to make it 3-2 to Real Madrid going in at half-time.
But it wasn’t until a red card shown to Eduardo Camavinga in the 86th minute that the game changed in the second half. Bayern went on to grab two goals and win the game 4-3, securing their spot in the semi-final against PSG.
In this article, we’ll cover
Madrid’s transition heavy tactic
Alvaro Arbeloa came into the game with his Real Madrid side set up to maximise their chances in transition, setting his side up in a relatively passive 4-4-2 shape out of possession.
The defensive and midfield lines of four looked to force Bayern out wide, limiting their central access and keeping things tight between their lines of engagement.
Meanwhile, both Mbappe and Vinicius Junior were playing as the front two in the 4-4-2 defensive scheme, but their roles were interesting, as neither one had much responsibility off the ball.
Real Madrid wanted to absorb the pressure against Bayern within their 4-4-2 shape, allowing the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic to get on the ball, waiting to pounce and get their good attacking looks in transition.
Steven Gerrard referred to Mbappe and Vinicius Junior’s positions as “cheat positions” as they were looking to act as those double “rest attackers”, causing Bayern problems in transition and looking to isolate the central defenders 1v1.
The two superstar forwards were a threat throughout for Real Madrid, which was exemplified with their third goal, as Vinicius Junior managed to isolate Jonathan Tah 1v1 out on the left, driving his way all the way to the Bayern box before slotting it into the arriving Mbappe, who found the net calmly to make it 3-2 on the night.
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Bayern’s “pinning” response
Vincent Kompany’s approach was even more interesting, as many managers would want to ensure they have ample protection against two of the biggest transition threats in world football.
However, he instead decided to double down with his approach, looking to utilise his full-back further forward to drag Madrid’s wide midfielders deeper and narrow, giving them plenty of control on the ball with a 4v2 in the first phase.
Kompany wanted his side to have control of the game, squeeze Real Madrid’s midfield and defensive line deeper and create a larger distance between the defending unit and the front two, making it tougher for those transition attacks to stick.
But it doesn’t stop there for Bayern, as once they have control and have the opposition pinned inside their own half, they like to try and shift the block vertically, in order to create space between the lines to attack.
Most teams are used to shifting the block horizontally, side to side, in order to to find gaps to penetrate and attack, but Kompany’s Bayern are masters of shifting a block vertically, using counter movements and rotations to attack the spaces between the lines of engagement as they jump to press.
Individual quality decides the tie
Now it’s important to state how crucial Camavinga’s red card was to the state of play, as Real Madrid had defended very well in their 4-4-2 structure, limiting Bayern’s space to work a moment of magic.
However, once the Frenchman received his marching orders, both Diaz and Olise were able to wave their magic wand, both scoring from range.
Diaz scored in the 88th minute to make it 3-3 (5-4 on aggregate), finding himself in the Real Madrid box, but using Jamal Musiala for a wall pass to create seperation and get his shot away, which took a deflection off of Eder Militao on the way through.
Olise was then able to add insult to injury, putting the game to bed in the 93rd minute, driving with pace at Mendy who had done well on his French counterpart, but on this occasion, Olise was able to shift the ball inside and release quickly in his next step, finding the top left corner and calling game.