Bayern 3 – 0 Union Berlin: Great job! 

This article written by Pepe Salazar

Tactical observations

Bayern’s structures are incredibly flexible, but there is a clear pattern regarding the formations that are used throughout the 90 minutes. Positional play, possession, overloads and high pressing are principles that can be seen in Bayern’s best and worst matches; these are the base principles that guide this team’s identity.

In the build up, Bayern oscillates between a 2-4-4 and a 3-4-3. Regardless of the formation, the main idea is to have Neuer as an interior central defender (CB), with Kim and Upa very wide, and the fullbacks pushing very high, almost like wingers. If Neuer stays in his goal keeping (GK) position, Kimmich, Upa and Kim (or, Upa, Kim and Davies) form a situational back three. If the build up gets very complicated, Musiala or Kane are happy to drop deep and get the ball forward. This tactical flexibility allows Bayern to control the build up, which in turn, allows to control possession, where the team is averaging at least 60%, with games over the 70% mark.

When Bayern pushes forward and gets to the opposite half, there is a lot of position switching, but the main structures seem to be the 2-4-4, 3-1-6, 3-2-5, and variations of these formations which tend to suffocate opponents. The fact Kane and Musiala constantly switch positions, drop deep and then make runs is baffling for CBs and central defensive midfielder’s (CDM). Today Berlin could drop as deep as they wanted but their defense never looked safe or comfortable, quite the contrary. Bayern didn’t have to create an insane amount of chances to finish almost every play, and the three goals scored were rather efficient in this sense.

In defense, the super high backline remains the same. Will this change against bigger clubs? So far, it seems to be no, the idea is for the backline to get used to this risky structure, and as the season progresses there should be a better understanding of how to compensate risks with defensive maneuvers.

Good news for the squad

Despite Pavlovic’s absence, the midfield looks solid, with Palhinha keeping things under control. Despite being positioned nominally as a CDM in a double pivot, Kimmich’s role and position seems to be that of an inverted RB dedicated to helping in the build up and creating passes from deeper positions, while Guerreiro, the nominal right back (RB), is acting much more like an overlapping fullback or almost a winger, which allows Olise to tuck in and play more like an inside forward.

The fact that Bayern has four fit wingers is great news for rotations and squad flexibility. This is quite a contrast from last season where Musiala and Müller were often forced to start on the wings due to Coman, Gnabry and Sané’s injuries.

Today Coman, unlike Gnabry, played like a traditional winger, and even scored. Gnabry tends to act more like an inside forward, so these two may switch depending upon what the team needs in each game. On the right, Sané looked very sharp coming in for Olise, and both offer very different things. Olise seems to offer possession, control and chance creation, while Sané, similar to Gnabry, has been consistently making diagonal runs into the box which have created several goal chances. If Sané can manage to score more often, his movements into the box may be crucial for Bayern in big games, either as a sub or as a starter.

Conclusions

There’s not much to ask for this squad in the Bundesliga. Under almost every relevant metric Bayern is miles ahead of the rest of the league, playing a modern attacking style that is both efficient and enjoyable, fans can celebrate not only results, but performances that are a joy to watch. The single question many of us are asking is if Bayern can carry this Bundesliga form to the Champions League, if that happens, this can be a historical season for the club.