UEFA Champions League 2022/23: How Nagelsmann outclassed Messi’s PSG in this European clash of the titans – tactical analysis

The UEFA Champions League is back. On Tuesday, all eyes were on Parc des Princes to watch one of the toughest games in the first leg of the 16 round between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians, who dominated the game for the most part, earned a 1-0 win over PSG. The Frenchman Kingsley Coman scored the only goal, such as he did three years ago when both teams met in the Champions League final.

This tactical analysis will dive into the tactics of both teams, also how Julian Nagelsmann dominated Christophe Galtier tactically and was ready for his reactions.

Lineups

The French coach Christophe Galtier structured his team in 4-4-2 which has been used for only 7% of the games this season.

Paris Saint-Germains starting eleven comprised of: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Ramos, Marquinhos (c), Mendes; Zaire Emery, Pereira, Verratti, Soler; Messi, Neymar.

On the other side, the 35-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann lined up his players in a 3-4-2-1 dynamic structure.

Bayern Munichs starting lineup was as follows: Sommer; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt; Cancelo, Kimmich (c), Goretzka, Coman; Sane, Musiala, Choupo-Moting.

Bayerns glow vs PSG’s suffering?

Bayern mostly dominated the play against a cautious retreat from Paris in their stadium, which didn’t enable us to see Yann Sommer much in the first half.

Usually, Nagelsmann is diverting between some in-possession structures under the same principles. Seeking the vertical axis more than the horizontal one could summarise his positional play approach.

His prominent