4 things we learnt from Champions League midweek

Champions league football was back after more than two months of a break. In the opening night, Bayern Munich and Chelsea visited Shakhtar Donetsk and PSG respectively. The day after, it was Real Madrid’s turn to re-visit Gelsenkirchen for the second time in a year. FC Basel managed to hold FC Porto for a draw in Basel.Some of the games had tactical importance while others revealed the flaws in systems of the teams. Let us have a look at the 4 main things that we learnt from these games:

#1 Blunt Bayern Munich

I wrote an article a month ago stating the five reasons why Bayern Munich will not win the Champions League this season. Pep Guardiola, the Bayern manager, has still not learnt from his mistakes. His positional play failed in Lviv, and Bayern could get nothing even though they enjoyed a major share of the possession. Shakhtar Donetsk managed to replicate what Wolfsburg did to Bayern Munich.

Bayern, last season, had problems in penetrating the defense of deep sitting teams. It has prevailed even this season. Against Shakhtar, on Tuesday, they somehow managed to put the ball into the 18-yard box but were poor in front of the goal. The forwards lacked the killer instinct. Bayern Munich players now regret not scoring any goals.

"We had some problems in attack today. We weren't able to play as we expected. But there is still a second game, which we aim to win though the little details will be decisive. It would have been great if we had scored today." Mario Goetze told in the post match conference.

Shots attempted by Bayern Munich. (Courtesy of FourFourTwo)

Shakhtar defended well by closing down the opponents and leaving them with very less space to create something from. Since Bayern were still searching for a goal, many players pressed forward. Whenever the hosts counter-attacked, Bayern had to resort to tackles to stop them. This also disrupted Bayern’s free flow. Teams like Real Madrid and Chelsea, or similar teams that are comfortable in scoring from counter attacks, can easily pick the Bavarians apart and steamroll them.

#2 Matuidi shows his class

Laurent Blanc, the PSG manager, fielded a 4-3-3 formation against Chelsea in Paris. Since many players were out injured, Blanc played Edinson Cavani on the left flank and Blaise Matuidi partnered Marco Veratti in the middle. It was Matuidi who saved PSG with his all-round performance.

Chelsea, who came with only one intent – secure a draw – defended deep. This left acres of space between PSG’s forwards and the midfielders. Matuidi, with his pace and energy, covered the region behind the striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He also posed attacking threat to Chelsea by making runs into the box. He had an excellent opportunity in the 10th minute when his header was pushed aside by Thibaut Courtois.

Since Cavani was drifting towards the center, there was a gap left in PSG’s left wing. The French midfielder shifted wide and provided well-timed crosses. Cavani equalized for PSG from a cross played into the box by Matuidi. As Matuidi was covering the region behind Ibrahimovic, Veratti was given the freedom to concentrate on the midfield and control the game.

Blaise Matuidi against Chelsea. (Courtesy of FourFourTwo)

Matuidi did not shun away from the defensive duties. He committed 7 tackles to prevent Chelsea during the breaks. He also marked Ramires in some situations and kept an eye on his runs.

#3 Schalke could have done better.

Schalke 04, under the new manager Roberto di Matteo, has played with a back 5 against trickier oppositions. And the tactical switch worked in a great manner for the Germans last night. Although they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid, they played brilliantly and came close to scoring at least thrice. Schalke 04 will surely regret missing the goal scoring chances. Pepe and Rafael Varane did not give much room for Eric Choupo-Moting and Klaas Jan Huntelaar which forced the home side’s forwards to shoot from outside the box.

Matija Nastasic, Joel Matip, and Benedikt Howedes were the three central defenders. They were supported by Dennis Aogo (LB) and Atsuto Uchida (RB), who most of the time sprinted forward and acted like wingbacks. The tie could have been more interesting, had di Matteo asked his central defenders to man mark Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Valencia, earlier this year, defeated the European Champions by using similar tactics. Valencia did not give B-B-C any chances and tackled hard to win the balls. Schalke should have been more committed.

Cristiano Ronaldo was in a good form against Schalke 04. (Courtesy of FourFourTwo)

In the midfield, instead of just Roman Neustadter, Schalke should have used another defensive minded player. This could have helped in controlling Isco, who was excellent in the first 45 minutes. Also, the presence of two defensive midfielders could have allowed the wingbacks to bomb forward more often.

#4 Porto dominate, Basel defend well.

Porto FC dominated the game and looked set to beat FC Basel but were thwarted by an early goal scored by Derlis Gonzalez. From the starting whistle to the final one, it was the visitors who were looking threatening with their well crafted passes. In fact, the two top performers of the match for Porto were Cristian Tello of FC Barcelona and Casemiro of Real Madrid.

FC Basel manager, Paulo Sousa, started with a 4-2-3-1 formation while Julen Lopetegui of Porto fielded a 4-3-3 formation. Throughout the match, all Basel did was put men behind the ball and keep the lead secure. While Porto played clever passes to feint the home side and create openings, Basel played long balls and tried to surprise Porto’s defense.

Passes made by Basel and Porto. (Courtesy of FourFourTwo)

Porto, who looked very dangerous while attacking, earned the equalizer through a spot kick. Now, with an away goal, the Portuguese club has an advantage and all it has to do when Basel comes visiting is somehow keep the score intact. This draw is a major setback for the Swiss champions. All the good work they did was undone by a handball inside the box.