The resumption of the UEFA Women’s Champions League will be a welcome sight to many after the early finishes to the domestic leagues. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain will be contesting in the other tie of the night but the game we’re looking at more closely here is Olympique Lyon Feminin vs Bayern Munich. While Lyon will be favourites to win the tie, Bayern Munich are not a side to just roll over as they will pose a significant threat to the serial French winners.
This tactical analysis will analyse both systems of play and how each team can pose a significant threat to the other. Through the analysis of previous games, we will look to understand how Bayern Munich and Lyon will set up in order to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich’s build-up structure
Starting off with Bayern Munich’s approach in possession, we will understand their build-up and attacking style to see how they are likely to penetrate through Lyon’s world-class midfield and cause them defensive issues.
Bayern’s starting shape and formation rotates between the 4-4-2 (29%) and 4-2-3-1 (23%). The close percentages suggest that both systems are interchangeable within the game and is something the team is comfortable doing. If we look at Bayern Munich across the season they’ve been very successful in controlling possession coming out from the back and this is where it begins. Their goalkeeper looks to find one of the two central defenders who then want to find a full-back, specifically the left-back to progress the ball. One central midfielder drops closer towards the centre-backs to offer an outlet and cover in case of a turnover in the wide areas. This is also used as an alternative method of progression.
The full-backs look to get high wide as they look to stretch teams. If the wide defenders are pressed or have no real way through, they recycle possession back centrally where the centre-backs will now look to go central and find a central midfielder or the deep-lying forward higher up.
Part of what makes Bayern such a dynamic side in build-up is the ability of their central midfield pairings to play complementary roles. Both players are adept in possession and have good spatial awareness to create space and take advantage of any space in midfield. Pushing the full-backs higher means there is an emphasis on the central midfield duo to help cover the spaces in behind and provide support in the event the opposition manage to win the ball back in the final or middle third.
Firstly, with the full-backs playing high, we often see teams play a lop-sided formation where one full-back is more dominant than the other and the case remains the same here. The full-backs will generally stand in line with the #6 and look to push on from there. Bayern’s left-side is much more attacking which is why they prefer to attack through here. The athleticism and intelligence on the ball of the left-back makes her a key outlet and one which teams have tried to solve this by looking to close down spaces. Though to negate this issue, having a double-pivot can help increase the superiority in midfield with one midfielder always looking to support the wide players and create overloads in these areas. Lyon are known to have a dynamic and all-action midfield setup that uses positional rotations to good effect, which will make this duel very interesting.
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