A battle of tactics
Bayern Munich started the game with blazing guns. The German giants caught Atletico Madrid off guard with their relentless pressing high up the pitch. Franck Ribery and Douglas Costa threatened on the flanks while Muller and Lewandowski continually found gaps in Atletico’s defense.
The Germans rotated possession outside the Atletico box, looking for chinks in the Madrid side’s armory. Full-backs David Alaba and Philipp Lahm were effective upfront on the overlap, while centre-backs Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez played a high line, supplying diagonal long balls to the men in wide positions.
All this while, Atletico Madrid absorbed pressure brilliantly, continuously outnumbering and isolating Bayern’s front-men whenever they looked to create a chance. There were times when almost nine blue shirts could be seen guarding the Atletico box.
Atletico always looked dangerous on the counterattack, with Antoine Griezmann eventually getting the crucial away goal after the Bavarians lost possession high up the field with very less cover. The Frenchman made no mistake after he was played through on goal by Fernando Torres as he calmly slotted the ball past Manuel Neuer at the near post.
Solid defending, brilliant counterattacking and a great solo performance between the sticks from Jan Oblak ultimately helped the Madrid side make their way to the final.
