In the last match-week of the Bundesliga, champions Bayern Munich were welcomed to the Volkswagen Arena to face Wolfsburg. Oliver Glasner’s side did not have something to play for as well since they had secured a place in the Europa League in their previous fixture against Schalke 04, where they 4-1 away from home. Unfortunately for Wolfsburg, they conceded four to Bayern in this fixture thanks to a ruthless performance from Hansi Flick’s team. Goals from Kingsley Coman, Michael Cuisance, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller gave Bayern a much-deserved win, a microcosm of their triumphant season under Flick. Wolfsburg were unable to score despite having good chances of their own and had to finish the game with 10 men as Joshua Guilavogui was sent off for a second bookable offence.
This tactical analysis will examine the tactics used by both Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich in this Bundesliga match. The analysis will highlight Wolfsburgs build-up play as well as Bayern in transition and their quality in creating crosses.
Lineups
Wolfsburg manager Glasner organised his starting line-up in a 4-4-2 formation. Koen Casteels once again starts in goal with a back four of Jérôme Roussillon, John Brooks, Marin Pongračić and Kevin Mbabu. Joshua Guilavogui and Maximilian Arnold were the central pairing in midfield with Josip Brekalo and Renato Steffen on either side. Towering strikers Daniel Ginczek and Wolfsburg’s top scorer Wout Weghorst completed the starting eleven as a front two.
Bayern began with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation that they used for the entirety of the fixture. Flick opted for a back four consisting of regular starters Alphonso Davies, David Alaba and Jerome Boateng but included Real Madrid loanee Alvaro Odriozola as the right-back. Leon Goretzka once again started and Michael Cuisance kept his place alongside him after a good showing against Freiburg. The attacking trident for Bayern remained the same as it has for the majority of the season with Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry all starting. Once again, Bayern’s marksman Robert Lewandowski started upfront as he collected another Torjägerkanone, a title for the leading goalscorer in the league.
