DFB Pokal 2018/19: Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich

If counter-attacking is the second name of German football, the DFB Pokal is a tournament in which teams turn it up a notch. Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich are two teams that always have surprises in store for each other. This season, these two have produced tightly contested fixtures with both ending up with only a single goal difference across their previous three encounters.

This game unfolded quietly at the beginning but the drama picked up steadily as the minutes progressed leaving the climax to the end. The semi-final was fought tooth and nail with crossbars and posts required to step in for both, stopping and assisting goals. In this tactical analysis we examine how the Bavarians put an end to Werder Bremen’s dream run in the tournament.

Lineups

Nico Kovač has managed to restore Bayern to winning ways since the turn of the New Year utilising a 4-2-3-1. The double pivot system utilises Javi Martínez in a more defensive central midfield role while Thiago Alcântara has more license to roam around and receive the ball behind lines of pressure.

Having experimented heavily as an attacking midfielder during the Guardiola days, Thomas Müller is chosen to play a very specific number 10 role. Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry started the semi-final looking to offer pace out wide.

Florian Kohfeldt has been managing a rather successful season with Werder Bremen with his 4-3-1-2. The attacking pair always involves the in-form Milot Rashica up front while the veteran Max Kruse plays a deeper attacking role as a number 10. The central midfield comprised of ex-Ajax product Davy Klaassen, Kevin Möhwald and the home-bred Maximilian Eggestein. The Japanese Yuya Osako was chosen to partner Rashica up top looking to combine quickly on the counter-attack and create opportunities for Bremen.

Cautious beginnings

As anticipated, Bayern began to have most of the possession stretching play wide. Bremen held a tight row of two with their defenders and midfielders while the front three constantly pressed Bayern to force a turnover of possession.