Same philosophy,Different teams,Same results
Bayern Munich dismantled Barcelona in the Champions League last year in a strangely similar way to which they have been beaten this year. Last year it was Barcelona who were hogging the ball and it was Bayern who destroyed them on the counter. But in appointing Pep, Bayern have taken to the same philosophy which they have helped destroy last year.
4-4-2 back again?
A new variant of 4-4-2,employed so succesfully by Real Madrid against both Barcelona and Bayern Munich is in town. Against Barcelona it was Bale who played as the wide attacker in the front two and now it was Ronaldo. Bale moved to the right side of the midfield,where he defended quite well recalling his days as a full back and attacked with blistering pace.
With Di Maria and Bale two pacy wingers but defensively aware and a free role for Ronaldo,this 4-4-2 is unstoppable against teams which crowd the center of the pitch and dominate position. Ancelotti has to change his tactics in the final as both Chelsea and Atletico will concede the ball.
Set pieces
Why do possession hoarding teams always defend set pieces so miserably. Barcelona were terrible at it last year against Bayern. And this year Barcelona conceded their first goals to set pieces. This is were Pep’s arrival has weakened Bayern. Last year they were strong and powerful in the air. The debate about Zonal marking and man to man will be endless but everyone has to play to their own strengths.
Double Pivot a must.
Dante and Boateng were up against Ronaldo and Benzema all by themselves and they struggled in a 2 v 2. Pep had to bring on Javi Martinez to offer more protection to the two center backs. Last year in Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez Bayern had possibly the best double pivot in the world.
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