UEFA Champions League 2019/20: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich – tactical analysis

There is no stopping Bayern Munich under Hans-Dieter Flick. The Bavarians once again proved that against Barcelona on Friday night in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final fixture.

Bayern Munich looked like a fading force under Niko Kovač but under Hansi Flick went through a complete overhaul, whereas Barcelona’s misery does not look to go away anytime soon. The recent performances of both the teams indicated towards a Bayern Munich victory but no one in their million dreams ever dreamt of an 8-2 scoreline.

In this tactical analysis, we will decipher the reason behind Barcelona’s debacle and the tactics and intricacies of both the managers.

Line-ups

Hans-Dieter Flick opted to go with the same formation and line-up that the gaffer fielded in the 2^nd leg of round of 16 against Chelsea. Manuel Neuer manned the goal-post, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich assumed their usual positions either side of David Alaba and Jérôme Boateng. Thiago Alcântara and Leon Goretzka acted as the double pivot. Thomas Müller, the Raumduter started in the hole behind Robert Lewandowski and on either side of the German positioned the prolific Serge Gnabry and the experienced Ivan Perišić.

Quique Setién had different intentions. The Spaniard shuffled his line-up as well as altered the formation that led them to the quarter-final. The 4-3-3 changed to flat 4-4-2 and Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal were called up to the starting line-up in place of Ivan Rakitić and Antoine Griezmann.

Bayern takes advantage of Barcelona’s vapid pressing

Out of possession, Barcelona defended in a flat 4-4-2 block, with Messi and Suárez leading the press. The first line of press was almost non-existent with Messi and Suárez ineffective and hardly putting any pressure on the ball-carrier. Even the central midfielders failed to control the space in the midfield, as can be seen in the image below, Busquets and de Jong were poorly staggered.