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Bayern Munich’s Tactical Tweak Flicks Switch On Thomas Muller
- Updated: December 3, 2016
What do you get if you add four, two, three and one? A 3-1 win, it seems. For the first time since taking over at Bayern Munich in the summer, Carlo Ancelotti abandoned his 4-3-3 formation at kick-off for Friday night’s game in Mainz and went for the setup that worked so well under his predecessor, Pep Guardiola. The effect was magical.
“We haven’t played like we played in the first half for weeks,” Arjen Robben said after his 150th Bundesliga appearance, per Bayern’s official website. “As a player, it’s really fun. We had a lot of movement, a lot of surprise, and I think that we have lacked the element of surprise in recent weeks.”
The initial surprise was upon seeing the lineup given Ancelotti’s stubbornness in sticking to his tried-and-tested strategy. There was less surprise on the pitch, though, as Bayern, whose players have been crying out for the switch, reverted to the type of 2015/16.
As Bild stated: “Carlo wins with Pep plan.” There was movement, and just as there had been under Guardiola, there was goal threat—everything that had been lacking for much of Bayern’s season so far. They had 71 per cent possession, and though that may not be entirely abnormal for Bayern, they did a lot with it in the opening period at the Opel Arena.
“In the first half, we were really good and should have actually scored more goals,” Robben added, per Bayern’s official website. He was right.
The pairing of Robben with Franck Ribery for the first time in the starting lineup since March played a part in what was certainly Bayern’s best first-half performance this season. Robbery were their usual selves, providing pace, trickery, crosses and shots from wide positions—notably the Dutchman, who wonderfully teed up Robert Lewandowski for the first goal and scored the second himself.
But it was their understanding with each other and with Thomas Muller in particular that provided the key to Bayern’s much-improved display, as the three behind Lewandowski were superb …
