Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Bayern Munich: Tactical analysis

Bayer Leverkusen v FC Bayern Muenchen – Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga is fast gaining recognition as one of the best leagues in the world, and this game was a perfect advert for the league.

With Borussia Dortmund slipping up at Gladbach earlier in the day, both these teams had the chance to scale the summit. The champions only needed a point to go top, but Leverkusen needed all three. The electric atmosphere at the Bay Arena only added to the spice, with both sets of fans contributing with a lot of singing from the stands.

Leverkusen started in their customary 4-3-3 formation, set up to hit Bayern on the counter. In attack, Heung Min Son was left on the bench, and former Bayern starlet Emre Can made his first start for his new club. Toprak and Spahic were the centre backs, with Donati and Boenisch on their right and left respectively. Bender, Rolfes and Reinartz were the midfielders, and the strikers, aside from Can, were Sam and Kie?ling.

Bayern Munich also began in their usual shapes, the 3-3-1-3 in attack, and the 4-2-3-1 in defence. Again, Muller started as the striker, with Ribery and Shaqiri on the flanks. Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Lahm were in midfield. At the back, Rafinha, Dante, Boateng and Alaba started, with Neuer in goal.

Leverkusen Attacking Through Full Backs

Leverkusen average about 46% possession in their games. They’re a side that strikes mainly on the counter. Bayern are also a team that gets their full backs forward, and these players have to transition quickly, because the likes of Ribery also aren’t expected to come very deep when tracking back.

Therefore, it made perfect sense for Hyppia to make his full backs the main source of attack. The two full backs sprinted forward at every opportunity, and also played a good role in creating chances. The rationale was to attack using wide positions. The goal came from the confusion created after a cross.

Bayern Pressing

In midweek, against Manchester City, we saw some ferocious pressing from Bayern Munich. They pressured City into a lot of errors, and basically kept the ball. However, there was a slight change of tactics against Leverkusen.

The home side is one that thrives on the counter, and pressing them early would play into their hands. Therefore, Bayern allowed to play their first ball out, but had men back to win it back. As a result, Leverkusen hardly managed to get the ball forward very often, or launch effective counter attacks.

Bayern Munich tackles in the match.
via squawka.com

As you can see in the graph above, most of the Bayern tackles were executed in a certain region of the field. This was when someone like Kie?ling or Sam was tackled, as they tried to move with the ball and get forward. The fact that Leverkusen only managed 5 attempts says all you need to know about the Bayern defensive tactic.