Despite currently enjoying an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, putting them on the path to a record-extending 34th German championship, Bayern Munich were unable to break their Bayer Leverkusen hoodoo on the domestic scene from last season in their direct battles.
With both league fixtures for the 2024/25 campaign already played, as well as a DFB-Pokal Round of 16 tie where Leverkusen posted the sole win in between them in Germany this season, Bayern were 0-for-3 against the reigning champions when the full-time whistle went in last months scoreless draw at the BayArena.
While that result was of greater benefit to Bayern than it was to Leverkusen, given the league situation, it did extend the Bavarians run of six games without a win against their rivals.
Their last success against them had come in September 2022, just before Xabi Alonsos arrival as their manager the following month.
So when the UEFA Champions League knockout stage draw pitted both sides against each other once again, it offered another opportunity for Bayern to put things right and re-establish themselves as the top dogs in Germany again, not only by the standings but also in head-to-head competition.
And prevail they did, as Bayern walked out with a 3-0 win on Wednesday night to put themselves in a commanding position ahead of the return leg next week, courtesy of a brace from Harry Kane either side of Jamal Musialas goal.
In this tactical analysis, well take a look at some of the keys behind Bayerns victory, which gave Vincent Kompany his first taste of success against Xabi Alonso as manager, at the fourth time of asking this season.
Bayern Munich Vs Bayer Leverkusen Lineups & Formations
Bayern Munich, as they so often do under the Belgian manager, set out in a 4-2-3-1 scheme with Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-Jae, and Alphonso Davies, preferred to Raphael Guerreiro presumably due to the threat of Jeremie Frimpongs pace on that side, forming their back four in front of Manuel Neuer.
Leon Goretzka partnered Joshua Kimmich in the center of midfield with Jamal Musiala occupying the attacking midfield role, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman on either side of him and Harry Kane up front.
For Alonsos Leverkusen, it was a similar approach to the league meeting between the two sides last month.
The team played a 4-4-2 double false-nine formation, with Florian Wirtz and Amine Adli leading the attack.
Top scorer Patrick Schick was benched once again.
Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo were on the wings, with Exequiel Palacios and Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park in midfield.
At the same time, Nordi Mukiele and Piero Hincapié flanked the central defensive duo of Jonathan Tah and Mario Hermoso.
Finally, Matěj Kovář was in between the sticks ahead of first-choice Lukas Hradecky.
There were no real surprises in Bayerns selection.
For Leverkusen, it was the third consecutive meeting between the sides in which they lined up without an actual center-forward.
This was much criticised last month as they failed to convert their many chances into goals in a crucial match in the Bundesliga title race.
In the end, this approach didnt work out this time either, but it had to do with much more than missed chances.
Lets look at a few of the keys that led to Bayerns victory and how they neutralized Leverkusen offensively while exposing them defensively.
Bayern Munich Positional Rotations
There were two ways Bayern were able to move their pieces effectively to wherever they needed them — both in attack and in defense.
First, lets look at how that looked on the defensive side.
Its no secret that Leverkusen bases much of their offensive work on their two standout wide players, Frimpong and Grimaldo. Bayern was prepared to deal well with this situation for this game, particularly with the Dutchman.
Besides opting to go with Alphonso Davies at left back, who can better match Frimpongs pace in 1v1 situations than Raphael Guerreiro, Kingsley Coman played a key role on the defensive side, which helped them negate Leverkusens wide men on the right early on in the game.
The above is an example of how Coman was used in this game.
He drops deeper here to help Davies in support against any potential 2v1 situation, with Frimpong and Nordi Mukiele coming from behind.
While this helped Bayern suss out the visitors advances on that flank, Comans presence in the defensive half was also useful when regaining possession.
He could then carry the ball forward or release it quickly so that his team could attack quickly through
