Bundesliga 2019/20: Bayer Leverkusen vs Freiburg – tactical analysis

This weekends game at the BayArena was one which looked reasonably how it was expected to. Freiburg, currently flying in the Bundesliga, are renowned for their out of possession play and defensive solidity, while Bayer Leverkusen boast one of the highest average possession percentages of any team in Europes top five leagues, and Peter Boszs sides are known for their positional play, as well as their poor ability to prevent counter-attacks. In this tactical analysis, I will look at Freiburgs numerous setup changes within the game, how these limited Leverkusen, and how Leverkusen were able to exploit one particular weakness within Freiburgs system but were unable to capitalise.

Lineups

Leverkusen lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1, which showed itself as all the usual variations on a 4-3-3, depending on the positioning of the central midfielders. Kerem Demirbay would drop to receive the ball, with the two midfielders usually looking to receive progressive passes from the centre backs, or two midfielders could drop to form the 4-2-3-1. Freiburg meanwhile rotated throughout the game between formations, as I will cover in this analysis.

Freiburgs gameplan

As mentioned Freiburgs gameplan and the general pattern of the game was fairly predictable, with Leverkusen having 70% possession. Freiburg were therefore expected to make the most of set pieces and whatever counter-attacking opportunities they could create with limited players high up the pitch.

Freiburgs gameplan became a success very quickly when in the fifth minute they were able to exploit Leverkusens man-marking approach from corners. In a pretty basic routine, Freiburg used diversion runners that ran to the near post in order to create space at the far post. As we can see below these runners were followed by their man markers, while the target player feints acting as a blocker, which leaves his marker flat-footed expecting little movement from the attacker.