This Sunday brings the conclusion to this year’s instalment of the UEFA Champions League. The single match knockout style of this tournament has offered a much different dynamic than it normally presents.
Bayern Munich come into this final on the back of dominating their opponents through their incredible positional play and high pressing, who will look to dominate from the off through possession. PSG offer a much different approach, looking to use their speed and flair players to the best of their abilities. They are regularly at their best with space to run into on the break. These differences will provide a very intriguing final on Sunday.
This tactical analysis preview will look at both sides and identify areas this match could be won and lost in. While Bayern enter as favourites, PSG’s style represents a very dangerous opposition to the Bundesliga champions. This analysis will be broken down into six sections going over these different tactics between the two sides.
PSG’s defensive structure
Moving into this match, both sides will look to play to their strengths. Bayern Munich will undoubtedly aim to establish their dominance from the off, using their positional play while aiming to hold possession in PSG’s half. This is how the German side approaches all of their matches, and therefore are likely to continue in this vein given their success.
Off the back of this, Bayern’s high possession style could work to PSG’s advantage. However, before they can look to exploit Bayern’s weaknesses, they must first ensure they are defensively sound.
A 4-4-2 defensive system would likely give the Ligue 1 champions the best chance in finding success with this. There are many advantages to this structure we can look at as to why it should be implemented, and this moves into the transition phase between defending and attacking.
Tuchel often works his formations around getting the best out of his players. As we have seen in previous matches and will discuss further, systems used such as the 4-2-2-2 in possession are designed for this exact purpose. So how will the 4-4-2 allow PSG to get the best out of their players?
The biggest defensive advantage with the 4-4-2 is the cover in wide areas for the full-backs. Bayern are notorious for using the wide and half-spaces to move through their attacking progressions. The 4-4-2 will give PSG four defensive players who can help in these deeper positions along with a striker who can drop in and provide aid when needed. Marquinhos and Leandro Parades have both been excellent in the absence of Marco Verratti in the centre of the pitch and would be the ideal pairing in this system. Out wide, Ángel Di María has shown a tremendous work ethic and would be relied upon to keep Joshua Kimmich marked on the left side. As for the right side, Ander Herrera could be deployed in this position. During his time at Manchester United he successfully man-marked Eden Hazard out of games using his defensive capabilities.
When possession is regained, this system can easily transition. Herrera inverts into a central midfield role while Di María joins the forward line with Neymar and Kylian Mbappé to return to PSG’s natural 4-3-3.
