At 0.77 xGA P90, Bayern Munich have arguably been Europe’s top defensive side in 2024/25.
That’s really where this article started.
Initially, this Bayern Munich press was an opportunity for study and self-improvement.
After watching the press from organised starting positions, other ideas emerged.
While Bayern is still one of the best defensive sides in the world, it’s simultaneously a side with some vulnerabilities in its high press, which is the topic of this tactical analysis.
Looking at the Bayern Munich high press, we’ll first highlight some of the key principles of Vincent Kompany’s tactical approach and then look at some of the ways opponents have managed to beat them in recent games.
Key Tactical Principles Of Bayern Munich’s High Press
Let’s start off with some basics on FC Bayern’s high press.
They can adapt the number of players in the first pressing line, going with either two or three depending on the match tactics.
We have examples of both below, but the more relevant points to consider are the marking responsibilities that essentially leave the Bavarians man-for-man with little coverage for their teammates.
One of the core principles is to use their qualitative superiority against the opponent.
Between their soccer IQ and athleticism, this is a Bayern team that typically holds an advantage against opponents when lined up man-for-man.
Taking a man-marking approach, they can often stretch the attacking team’s lines as the opponent looks to disconnect the Bayern Munich defence.
We get a good sense of this against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Bayern start aggressively, pushing their two forwards into the half spaces to account for the opponent’s centre-backs.
That leaves central space for the goalkeeper to operate and for Mönchengladbach to split the centre-backs with a midfielder.
As their #6 drops in, you can see the adjustment from Bayern Munich as they chase the #6 and rotate the marker on the free player in midfield.
All short and intermediate options are accounted for, and the objective is to force the opponent to play into a higher target.
In this example, the first touch results in a loss of possession, though Bayern does give it straight back.
This is a nice sequence to show how Bayern’s press adjusts when they can’t win the second ball where there is an immediate turnover following a recovery.
Once the ball is played forward, there is more of an emphasis on recovering into some semblance of defensive shape rather than following their marks.
That puts them in a position where they have numbers near the ball to prevent this pass from being played forward, as well as numbers to claim the loose ball.
When Bayern sets out with three in the first line, there’s usually more of an emphasis on pressuring the goalkeeper.
The central player will step forward to apply pressure while his teammates prepare for him to funnel play toward one side and cut off the other side of the pitch.
Here, they funnel play to Bayern’s left.
Once the ball is played from the goalkeeper to the right centreback, Thomas Müller continues to chase the ball while Leroy Sané remains in a deeper position.
With Bayern committing three to the first line, you would assume they would step forward to the right centre-back, but Sané’s waiting for the pass into the right-back to cue his action.
It’s Müller’s job to make sure the pass is played.
Once the ball does go to the wing, you can see the reaction from Bayern’s midfield.
They start to recover towards midfield in anticipation of a long pass forward.
They continue to track their marks visually, and the emphasis at this point is to drop deeper in support of the first and second balls.
Once the ball is played forward, Bayern’s tight man-marking allows them to get pressure on the ball immediately and intercept the pass just as Mainz attempt to move into the middle third.
It’s an aggressive approach that assumes Bayern is tactically and physically superior to their opponents.
It puts the players in a position where they can use those qualitative advantages in 1v1 scenarios against an opponent who must typically prepare to bring down a longer-range distribution or a pass played at him with a lot of pace.
For Bayern, it’s an opportunity to dare the opponent to build out and go head-to-head against this world-class starting XI.
Given the quality Bayern can get on to the pitch, there’s little doubt as to why they are one of Europe’s top defensive sides.
A Dichotomised Press
It’s very difficult to play through this Bayern Munich press, but certainly not impossible.
While Vincent Kompany’s tactics are sound, and our tactical analysis from that previous section gives a sense of how successfully Bayern can force an engagement of their choosing, this is a press that leans heavily on individual quality.
One lapse in concentration, one late approach to pressure the ball, or one missed run, and you can get this Bayern Munich side chasing 80m to stop a direct attack.
The big win over RB Leipzig gives us a nice tactical camera angle from a set press position.
Looking up the pitch, there’s a 3v3 high and centrally within the width of the goal.
Meanwhile, to RB Leipzig’s left, there’s a gap that they target and connect for the flick-on, getting their left-winger on the ball in the attacking half of the pitch.
RB Leipzig’s asymmetric approach was met with an asymmetric response.
The Bayern Munich defenders are willing to track their runners and find themselves in overload situations in order to maintain the man-marking orientation.
One consequence of the man-marking approach is that Bayern’s press is often dichotomised between the five, sometimes six, high players in the press and the remaining players at the back.
That can create a gap between their lines that opponents look to exploit.
Bayern may try to force the long pass, but they’re not always covered when the opponent does so, as shown in the example below.
The pass is played into space, and Hoffenheim can claim the 1st and 2nd balls.
As they won the second ball, they were able to face forward and pick out the two runners up the pitch.
A better ball was needed, but we can see the threat created by the pass behind the backline.
A last-ditch recovery attempt leads to a foul, an intelligent decision given that the defender was beaten.
Had the ball been played with more force, Hoffenheim would have been 2v2, possibly 2v1, while running into the final third.
Managing that space between the lines is problematic even when they do manage to win the first ball.
The issues are primarily rooted in how aggressively they pushed those first five or six players forward.
Inherently, there is a disconnect between the front half of the press and the back half.
This comes despite the fact that the midfielders are well-trained to drop off the moment they see the opponent playing long, which we see again in the sequence below.
Bayern managed to claim the first ball here, but Freiberg is well-positioned to fight for the second ball.
Ultimately, Bayern can’t close the gap between the lines, and the deepest players are flat, leaving them at a disadvantage in covering the space between the lines.
While the Bavarians do make an effort to at least slow the Freiberg attack, they still allow their opponents to break free of pressure and carry the ball into uncontested space.
The aggressive man-marking approach is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it does make it difficult for opponents to find those short and intermediate options, leading to lower percentage, longer range passes up the pitch.
This is manageable since it’s the target objective, meaning it’s the predictable action that Bayern want to induce in their high press.
However, it’s also an approach that comes with high stakes.
Any mistake can be fatal.
With the amount of ground the midfielders are asked to cover, opponents have had success simply fighting for the first and second ball.
When the gap between the front half of the press and the back half is significant, think 20 meters or more, Bayern does have issues recovering numbers behind the ball and offering support for the second ball.
It’s an issue that Vincent Kompany must address as Bayern moves into the second half of the Bundesliga season and the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Bayern’s Difficulties Limiting Progression On The Wings
Fighting for first and second balls is the most obvious scenario that Bayern must contend with.
The distance between the lines is designed to provoke the opponent to play long.
However, that’s not to say opponents have abandoned playing through the press or that Bayern Munich have consistently eliminated this approach from the opponent’s match tactics.
In fact, part of Feyenoord’s success in the recent Champions League match against Bayern was the Dutch side’s ability to use pattern play on the wings and carve through the press.
This is where they were able to have success targeting the two forwards at the front of the press.
By creating a 3v2 with the goalkeeper and using their left-back to pinch inside, they were able to find the free player and release the left-centreback beyond Sané.
A simple return pass to the left-back put him in space.
After a couple of additional touches, the ball was played over the top, leading to a Feyenoord goal.
The final ball there was played over the top, but it was attacking through the intermediate options that allowed the Eredivisie side to break the press.
They cleverly space the field to increase the distance between the Bayern Munich lines, both horizontally and vertically.
Then, they use the space they’ve created to create patterns on the wings to beat the Bayern press.
Below, we get a sequence that uses an up-back-forward pattern to beat the press.
One of the key ideas for Feyenoord was to play into the highest target possible and then for that player to set the ball into someone underneath him who was facing forward.
That pattern produced quick up/back/forward sequences for the Dutch side, leading to a switch of play in this instance.
One approach Borussia Mönchengladbach had was to draw their wingers deeper during the build-out to create space to get behind the outside-backs.
Much like the Feyenoord case, this example below targets the highest player.
Instead of setting the ball back into a forward-facing teammate, it’s bent behind the Bayern Munich backline, springing Mönchengladbach into the attacking half of the pitch.
When Bayern get beat on the ground, the biggest issue is that the spacing of the press allows the opponents to pass into the feet of their highest targets.
By allowing opponents to play into their highest targets, Bayern Munich’s midfielders and outside-backs have to find that delicate balance between pushing forward to support the highest players in the press and understanding that if opponents connect to their high targets, they can’t allow the opposition to get behind.
Once that happens, the opponent can run at the next line, knowing that Bayern has left their backline at even numbers.
That’s a dream scenario for any attacking side.
We can see the difficult position Bayern Munich are placed in when opponents can find a high target and set the ball back into a forward-facing player.
It creates a continuous need for positional adjustment and adaptation, often while chasing players from positionally inferior starting points.
Below, you can see how each pass forward leads to a late response from Bayern, allowing Borussia Mönchengladbach to continue progressing up the pitch.
The final pass is into the path of a player in an offside position, but notice how the sequence of chasing has unlocked the Bayern defence.
There’s now a tremendous gap that they simply haven’t covered.
With more discipline and positional awareness, Borussia Mönchengladbach are getting beyond the backline and racing towards the box.
Conclusion
Watching back many of Bayern Munich’s high recoveries, a number of them come through counter-pressing situations.
When an organised high press was called into action, this is where the Bavarians tended to slip.
Their approach is aggressive and will certainly cause many teams issues.
By taking away short and intermediate options, Bayern generally have success forcing opponents to take their shots higher up the pitch.
But that’s part of the problem facing Kompany and his squad.
The aggressive man-marking approach and significant distances between the front and back of the press often give opponents clean outlets into their highest targets.
Once that pass is played, there’s a race to see who can get between the lines first, Bayern’s midfield to take away back pass options or the opposition’s midfield to find the spaces that are given and allow their teammates to set into them.
While recent results have been positive, there is a vulnerability that Kompany must address.
Xavi Alonso‘s Bayern Leverkusen will challenge Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title until the end of the season.
We are approaching the Champions League’s knockout stages.
If there was ever a time to address an issue before it became fatal, this is it.
Bayern Munich’s high press needs some work.
This is the time for Kompany to sharpen the squad’s approach and shore up the defence ahead of pivotal Bundesliga and Champions League matches.
