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FotMob Reaction: Tuchel learns the twin threat which could see Germans reach final

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So Bayern Munich didn’t quite find a way. Not to end the long wait to beat Real Madrid at home and not to rouse themselves completely after another pretty poor first-half showing. They did, however and perhaps most importantly, find a way to expose the Spanish side’s very organised, very comfortable-looking defence. After an incident-packed 2-2 draw in the Champions League semi-final first leg, that might be the most vital information Thomas Tuchel has to take into the second.

By Karl Matchett

The question for the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu is now twofold: can Tuchel fashion a strong enough defensive set-up to wait for those opening-up moments to occur at the other end of the pitch? And, given the specificity of how Bayern eventually broke down Real Madrid, will the fitness of the players involved hold up?

It was the half-time switch of wide options which gave Bayern their inroads: attackers starting to run in from out, at pace, onto their favoured foots and being far, far more direct in heading toward goal than the Bavarians had ever been in the first 45 minutes. For too long it was safe, it was tentative, it was absolutely nothing to get Real Madrid’s defence moving.

But when Leroy Sané went right – cutting in on his left foot – and Jamal Musiala doing the same from from left onto right, Real suddenly had issues in stopping them. The single pivot in Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield was either dragged across and vacated the important space in front of the centre-backs, or else he did not, and the wide men went blazing towards goal, one-on-one with their full-backs who were turned in on their own wrong foot.

In both cases, goals arose. Sané hammered in an absolute belter, Musiala won a penalty when tricking Lucas Vázquez. Further chances fell from the same patterns of simple but highly effective play, with Sané’s irrepressible acceleration and Musiala’s magical control proving far too much to stop one-on-one. Later, Serge Gnabry made a welcome return off the bench and did likewise.

The starting pair managed five shots between them, eight successful dribbles and teed up a chance apiece for teammates. No player on the pitch, meanwhile, had more than the 11 touches in the opposition penalty box than Musiala managed – and none won more than the 10 duels he was successful in. He might have been the overall standout on the pitch, but it was the twin impact from he and Sané which got Bayern back in this tie.

For the second leg, there will almost certainly be at least one change in Real’s approach to defending against that threat. Dani Carvajal will probably replace Vázquez on the right, though he’s hardly a guarantee of survival: the veteran Spaniard averages over two fouls per 90 minutes in Europe this term, has only won 51% of his duels and has been dribbled past six times in 666 minutes. Despite his obvious experience and history of winning trophies as part of the collective, he remains a flawed individual who pacy attackers can absolutely target.

And they’ll need to, will Bayern, because their record in the Bernabéu is pretty awful. If historical outcomes make no difference to modern matches in isolation, we can also point to their away record this season as a whole: 13 wins from 22 overall, or a 59% win rate. In Europe, it’s 60%, three from five. And in what will be the previous three months by the time the second leg kicks off, it’ll be either 33% or only 22%, depending on if they can beat the team one place and four points behind them in the Bundesliga – Stuttgart – four days before playing in Madrid.

Tuchel’s side have struggled considerably on the road, and unless they want to rely on penalties, they need to make the most of the advantages they manage to eke out. It’s almost written in stone that Real will score on home soil of course, given the array of talent, the backing in the stands and – to be blunt – the big spaces Bayern afford them to pass through at times. The Germans will have to accept and absorb that, and find a way to do so themselves at least once.

But they know how to.

They’ve been shown how to.

And they have the players who can replicate exactly that, not just with Musiala and Sané but with Gnabry’s return, Alphonso Davies as another option and perhaps Mathys Tel, too. Real Madrid will remain favourites and have enormous expectation on them to reach another final, but Bayern Munich have already shown exactly how they themselves can upset the odds.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Champions League game with xG, deep stats, and players ratings, on FotMob this season. Download the free app here.

FotMob Reaction: Tuchel learns the twin threat which could see Germans reach final

So Bayern Munich didn’t quite find a way. Not to end the long wait to beat Real Madrid at home and not to rouse themselves completely after another pretty poor first-half showing. They did, however and perhaps most importantly, find a way to expose the Spanish side’s very organised, very comfortable-looking defence. After an incident-packed 2-2 draw in the Champions League semi-final first leg, that might be the most vital information Thomas Tuchel has to take into the second.

By Karl Matchett

The question for the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu is now twofold: can Tuchel fashion a strong enough defensive set-up to wait for those opening-up moments to occur at the other end of the pitch? And, given the specificity of how Bayern eventually broke down Real Madrid, will the fitness of the players involved hold up?

It was the half-time switch of wide options which gave Bayern their inroads: attackers starting to run in from out, at pace, onto their favoured foots and being far, far more direct in heading toward goal than the Bavarians had ever been in the first 45 minutes. For too long it was safe, it was tentative, it was absolutely nothing to get Real Madrid’s defence moving.

But when Leroy Sané went right – cutting in on his left foot – and Jamal Musiala doing the same from from left onto right, Real suddenly had issues in stopping them. The single pivot in Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield was either dragged across and vacated the important space in front of the centre-backs, or else he did not, and the wide men went blazing towards goal, one-on-one with their full-backs who were turned in on their own wrong foot.

In both cases, goals arose. Sané hammered in an absolute belter, Musiala won a penalty when tricking Lucas Vázquez. Further chances fell from the same patterns of simple but highly effective play, with Sané’s irrepressible acceleration and Musiala’s magical control proving far too much to stop one-on-one. Later, Serge Gnabry made a welcome return off the bench and did likewise.

The starting pair managed five shots between them, eight successful dribbles and teed up a chance apiece for teammates. No player on the pitch, meanwhile, had more than the 11 touches in the opposition penalty box than Musiala managed – and none won more than the 10 duels he was successful in. He might have been the overall standout on the pitch, but it was the twin impact from he and Sané which got Bayern back in this tie.

For the second leg, there will almost certainly be at least one change in Real’s approach to defending against that threat. Dani Carvajal will probably replace Vázquez on the right, though he’s hardly a guarantee of survival: the veteran Spaniard averages over two fouls per 90 minutes in Europe this term, has only won 51% of his duels and has been dribbled past six times in 666 minutes. Despite his obvious experience and history of winning trophies as part of the collective, he remains a flawed individual who pacy attackers can absolutely target.

And they’ll need to, will Bayern, because their record in the Bernabéu is pretty awful. If historical outcomes make no difference to modern matches in isolation, we can also point to their away record this season as a whole: 13 wins from 22 overall, or a 59% win rate. In Europe, it’s 60%, three from five. And in what will be the previous three months by the time the second leg kicks off, it’ll be either 33% or only 22%, depending on if they can beat the team one place and four points behind them in the Bundesliga – Stuttgart – four days before playing in Madrid.

Tuchel’s side have struggled considerably on the road, and unless they want to rely on penalties, they need to make the most of the advantages they manage to eke out. It’s almost written in stone that Real will score on home soil of course, given the array of talent, the backing in the stands and – to be blunt – the big spaces Bayern afford them to pass through at times. The Germans will have to accept and absorb that, and find a way to do so themselves at least once.

But they know how to.

They’ve been shown how to.

And they have the players who can replicate exactly that, not just with Musiala and Sané but with Gnabry’s return, Alphonso Davies as another option and perhaps Mathys Tel, too. Real Madrid will remain favourites and have enormous expectation on them to reach another final, but Bayern Munich have already shown exactly how they themselves can upset the odds.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Champions League game with xG, deep stats, and players ratings, on FotMob this season. Download the free app here.