The pick of the midweek games this week in the Bundesliga was the biggest game in German football, with top of the table Bayern Munich taking on second-place Borussia Dortmund. Both sides had picked up where they left off before the break, with both teams picking up two wins from two with convincing performances. It was a game that could potentially seriously damage Borussia Dortmund’s title hopes and one that also had the potential to put a dent in Bayern’s lead. In the end, Bayern edged a tight affair with a 1-0 win, with both sides displaying their usual qualities in build-up play, and Bayern eventually showing their extra bit of quality and in my opinion, tactical astuteness. In this tactical analysis, we will look at how Bayern were able to use their positional play and pressing to win the game, and how Dortmund looked to exploit Bayern’s pressing and create chances of their own.
Lineups
Both sides lined up as expected pretty much, with Borussia Dortmund sticking to their 3-4-3 which became a 5-4-1 out of possession, while Bayern Munich went with their familiar 4-2-3-1, with Thomas Müller in a freer role as usual. This shape adjusted slightly when pressing, which I will discuss in the analysis.
Bayern press
Bayern had a PPDA of 10.44 in the game and pressed particularly well in the first half, where they were able to adjust and cope with Dortmunds build-up well with an aggressive pressing scheme. We can see the ideal pressing situation for Bayern below. With Bayern in a 4-2-3-1, at times they could transition into a 4-4-2, with Thomas Müller jumping forward to act as a striker and press the centre back closest to him. The nearest winger could then press Dortmunds wing-back, while the central midfielders would look to press Dortmunds midfielders intensely should they receive the ball. The ball near central midfielder could look to keep the inside forward behind him in his cover shadow, and this is something Ill discuss throughout the analysis.
We can see here a pl
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