Champions League, Final
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Bayern Munich’s dominance against Barcelona and Lyonnais was based preliminary on their incredible forechecking. The key question before kick-off has been: Will they defend as high as they did against Mbappé, Neymar and Di Maria, too? And the answer was: Yes!
Due to Bayern’s high defense, they forced PSG’s three CM deep into their own half which let them loose connection to their front trio and caused a lack of attacking power.
But more important became the role of PSG’s central midfield against the ball. Whereas Marquinhos, Herrera and Paredes tighten up the center of the pitch, Di Maria’s and Mbappé’s defensive work rate was mediocre. So, Herrera (right) and Paredes (left) had to push through to the wing and support their Full Backs.
Bayern Munich exploited these short term outnumbered situations by switching the play to the other side of the pitch. Here, Thiago switches they play to the right wing, where Kimmich and Müller outnumber Bernat:
Same picture on the left wing, where Davies has wide open space:
To enter PSG’s side, Müller drops deep, with Thiago (at ball) and Goretzka binding PSG’s three CM, creating space on the wings and initiating Bayern’s winning goal:
Arrived in PSG’s side of the pitch, Gnabry, Müller, Coman and Lewandowski position high up, binding all four defenders. Furthermore, Müller drops to a more central position, opening space for Kimmich:
Same pattern, this time Gnabry drops to the center:
