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Guardiola’s Bayern Munich struggling to dominate Champions League games this season×Proofread When the nightmare ended with a 5-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena, Pep Guardiola vowed to make a strong comeback and win the Champions League. That night in Munich changed the way in which people perceived possession football. Tiki-taka was doubted. Guardiola’s “keep the ball, pass the ball” technique needs an evolution.Guardiola has tested out the variants of “three at the back” and has adopted a counter pressing system. So far, so good. But can Bayern resist the teams that play on the counter? Last season Bayern Munich was clearly the favorite to reach the finals of CL. But Real Madrid’s pressure soaking defensive setup and quick attacks on the break put dent to Bayern’s progress. After watching Guardiola’s men for 5 months, I think, their playing style has changed but they are not yet ready to win the Champions League.
#1 Bayern needs to change its mentality
In terms of the mentality between Bayern Munich of 2013 and Bayern Munich of 2014, there is very little difference. Last year, Pep’s side played wide and was in no rush to break open the opposition. The same has continued this year.
The problem arises when playing against teams which prefer to defend and settle for a draw instead of taking chances by playing openly. In the Champions League group match against CSKA Moscow, Bayern had plenty of time on the ball but it managed to score only one goal. The Bavarians kept passing the ball outside CSKA’s penalty box while the opposition players stayed behind the ball.
Guardiola can, alternatively, play possession game in the midfield and gear up the tempo suddenly in order to catch the opposition off guard, instead of piling the pressure from minute one.
#2 Guardiola\'s system lacks penetration
The main disadvantage of playing a high pressing game is that it prompts the opposition to park the bus. The only way to break such a barrier is by dragging the defenders wide and making way for the deep-lying forwards to make runs into the channel. A 5-man defense of CSKA proved problematic for Bayern.
Mario Goetze, who played in front of CSKA’s defensive line tried only 8 forward passes. This shows that Bayern severely lacks penetration when playing against teams that defend deep.
#3 Playing a high defensive line and lacking pace
Guardiola has adopted a high defensive line. Mainly because, it suits Bayern’s possession play and it is the best way for Pep to make complete use of sweeper ability of Manuel Neuer.
In Bundesliga, most of the clubs prefer not to open themselves and pave way for Bayern. But that’s not the case when it comes to Europe. While playing a high defensive line, any mistake from the defender’s part can prove fatal. Against Manchester City, Bayern lost its one goal cushion in the last 6 minutes of the game. Both the goals can be attributed to Bayern’s high line of defense.
Sergio Aguero found a huge gap between Jerome Boateng and Dante and sprinted all the way from the half line to equalize for City. 5 minutes later, a mistake Boateng allowed Aguero to put Manchester City in front.
Long balls from the back and quick forwards can exploit the space behind the defense.
#4 Bayern has a problem adapting to teams with similar philosophy
Teams which have similar playing style to that of Bayern have posed serious problems. Manchester City, in both the CL group games, proved a tough nut to crack. Manchester City pressed higher up the pitch which shunted Neuer’s free roaming in the space behind his team’s defenders. This was a major setback Bayern as it had to settle for pressing by compromising the space between Neuer and its defenders. City was benefited by this – Aguero was never closed down by Neuer and he faced Neuer only on “one-on-one” situations.
In Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen play with intense pressing and counter pressing. Leverkusen pressed all over the pitch that led to Bayern losing the possession 21 times. Teams like Atletico Madrid sit back and press in their own half. In such a scenario, Bayern might find it hard to put the ball inside the 18 yard box.
#5 No Plan B?
It looks as if Guardiola has entered into the title race without a backup system. He plays 3-4-3, 3-3-3-1 and 4-3-3 with high pressing and possession. But what if Bayern have to protect a slight margin of 1 goal with 10 men and it is the CL final? Surely Pep can’t revert to a defensive tactic and demand 100% from his players.
The problem was similar when Guardiola was coaching Barcelona. Under Pep, Barcelona’s attacking and passing was top notch. Barcelona, like Bayern, was reluctant to hold men back to prevent opposition from counter attacking.
