PSG stars overpower Bayern to end Ancelloti’s tenure

With very little central options up the field to connect with the attack, the only option by default was to progress using wide areas and the quality that was available in those spots. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like an awful idea, as Neymar and Mbappe are not the most industrious defensive presences in the world and are of much more value higher up the pitch. Therefore, creating numerical superiorities in wide spaces would be easy and progressing in those spots wouldn’t be as difficult as going through the center would be.

This was how Bayern managed to have as much time in the attacking half of the pitch as they did (along with PSG not applying much pressure to the ball carrier). Through the axis of Muller-Kimmich on the right and David Alaba on the left (James was not influential), the German club moved up the field either through dribbling and taking advantage of space provided, or via vertical and linear passing which was easy to predict. It was still moderately effective due to the skill levels of the players being able to technically execute the passes, despite PSG knowing the trajectory of them.

As a result of not being able to generate any attacking momentum in the center, Bayern pounded PSG with crosses throughout the match. This was their primary form of chance creation and really the only method in which they were able to get shots on goal, along with the 18 subsequent corner kicks that followed PSG attempting to clear their lines and prevent headers on goal.

Despite being able to generate 16 shots on goal, all with exception to one or two posed almost no real danger to the hosts. While this could be attributed to PSG’s deep block as they faced the barrage of crosses, it also can be explained by the structural point from earlier. By having the midfielders so deep, they are unavailable to provide additional numbers in the box when service is provided in the box, leaving Lewandowski (and Muller sometimes) heavily outmatched, meaning the ball has to be exceptional in order to create a quality scoring chance. If there were options higher up the pitch, not only would the progression up the pitch be better, but also the chance creation and finishing of those chances would’ve been better, as there would be more options in the penalty area for these crosses. This pattern indicates how ineffective Bayern’s attack was and how easily the one-dimensionality of their wing play was dealt with by a team with high level defenders.

In this example, due to the great distances between midfield and attack, Kimmich is left with one option to cross to after Tolisso passes the ball and Kurzawa joins Neymar in pressuring. This play ensues in a corner for Bayern, one of 18 throughout the match.

Their attack could’ve been greatly improved if there were a greater far-side halfspace presence when they were building within PSG’s half. The player who could’ve provided this option at the highest frequency was Tolisso, presumably too caught up in his duties covering Kimmich and the non-existent threat of Neymar being 30 yards away from him during possesion. If he were to provide this option, PSG’s defense would’ve been more suspect to being unbalanced as a result of a diagonal pass from the left side at which they often attacked, since the shifting that takes place as a team is a larger total distance than if the passing is just vertical or horizontal. It would also make switching the play easier and add more options while removing predictability for the player on the ball, forcing PSG to defend more space rather than just set their focus to one particular area.

Since this was not done, the ball carrier was left with no options besides playing up the wing or crossing into the box, a clearance, and the whole process would reset itself with every attack. When it comes to all aspects of football tactics, form fits function, or that the organization and structures of your players on the pitch should be symbiotic and supportive of how you want your team to play. Therefore, a structure with players in all vertical zones of the is required to implement some form of effective positional attack, in the same way that having players with close distances with each other is required if you want to implement a defensive system where pressure from multiple players can be applied to the ball carrier easily. Structural integrity is not just something that is discussed to stir up conversation. It is the fundamental component of team tactics and aiming to get the best out of a particular group of players.

If Carlo Ancelloti wanted his players to be able to have some foothold in the center of park, he failed at transmitting this message, as his midfielders failed to be in positions where they could exert influence in the middle and control the spaces in which they play. This led to few options ahead of the ball besides playing up the wing or cross. When combined with the increasing urgency to get numbers into the box to score to even the scoreline or get themselves back into the match after going 2-0 down, the perfect blend for PSG was in the works for unleashing their prized attackers.

Les étoiles 

Now onto the headline grabbers. This match was dominated by the front three of Paris, who have the potential to be the most exciting attacking line this year. PSG have designed their entire attacking strategy around the trio and have more or less deferred most attacking duties to them, with Rabiot and Verratti acting as support if they need it during circulation, while the full backs provide width just underneath if Neymar or Mbappe were positioned inside.

Mbappe frequently drifted inside just underneath Cavani to show an additional option in the center to play too, as Motta and Verratti each have high propensities to show deeper to receive the ball, not too dissimilar from Thiago and Tolisso did. The difference being with PSG is that their attack was designed to be more direct and their possession acted more as game management after they took they lead than it did as the primary way of getting to goal.

When it came to penetration, it largely came in two forms. It was either acheived through the dribbling prowess of Neymar and Mbappe, which Bayern struggled to deal with all evening, or Mbappe’s coveted ability to run in behind defenses thanks to his pace as seen with a tweet of mine below. With the second trait, the threat of that is an effective way of dismarking, and his ability to get free of Sule was influential in creating opportunities for himself and his teammates, particularly on the counter attack.

A reason Mbappe is so coveted is his timing of movements into depth. Combined with his pace, he's a huge threat on the counter & in the box. pic.twitter.com/1oZJ9gFPTa

— Austin Reynolds (@AReynolds70) August 15, 2017

With the dribbling abilities of Neymar and Mbappe, their ability to beat players on the dribble as a means of opening up passes for other players or creating shooting chances for themselves is among the world’s best. After all, they didn’t cost nine figures for nothing. Dribbling has several upsides to it as an action, namely how the danger of someone dribbling the ball gravitates other defenders toward the ball if one player is beat, due to a team’s natural inclination to close down the ball so that they can protect other valuable spaces. This helps explain why players who are particular skilled dribblers can have 2-3 players trying to slow them down, since they understand the intrinsic danger of having a player like that regularly beat defenders.

For PSG’s first goal, Neymar’s dribbling threat caused Bayern to greatly overcommit numbers to him, which was aided by the diagonal movements of Mbappe and Cavani toward the Brazilian, seemingly worried about the probability of him beating more players on the dribble and shooting. In the process, Bayern neglected access to the right side of the pitch, leaving Dani Alves open to run into toward the top of the penalty area and finish. Neymar’s magnetic dribbling posed problems for Bayern throughout the contest, as whenever he would move out to the left wing to receive the ball, Javi Martinez’s starting position would drift wide as a result, opening more space in the interiors for Mbappe and Cavani to run in behind. In fact, Neymar missed two chances in what could aptly be described as an off night for him. His frustration was evident throughout with himself for squandering quality chances, but found himself on the scoresheet in minute 63.

One example in the match of how Mbappe’s dribbling ability draws defenders toward him, freeing up the space inside for others to create opportunities on goal.

Mbappe had a similar experience throughout the match as well with Niklas Sule when he would move toward the right flank. Sule would follow him as a manner of coping with the danger he provided and also since Alaba was caught higher up the pitch in the attack. Partnered with Dani Alves on the right, the two of them frequently posed issues down Bayern’s left flank throughout the evening in terms of their urgency in transition and timing of their runs forward to get on the end of passes from one another. Due to the qualitative pace advantage that Mbappe possessed coupled with his dribbling ability, he was an influential creator for Paris St. Germain, as reflected in his two assists.

The biggest threat for the home side when it came optimizing their star men’s impact was on the counter. Once Bayern entered into the final third, typically one of Mbappe or Neymar would stay higher to join Cavani so there would be an outlet to play to once they win the ball so they could break. Rather than stay high up the pitch in line with Bayern’s defenders, they would drop deeper and pinch inside into their respective halfspace. Once the counter began, this gave whoever the runner was a headstart to reaching top speed in relation to the defender, who would be facing the other direction as well, or what is considered a dynamical advantage. This made any through balls played into the oncoming runners more effective, as their deeper positioning gives them more time to hit their highest speed and additional time for the player with the ball to consider which option to use and play the proper weight of the pass.

One example of one of PSG’s front three dropping into the halfspace to create room for himself, with the supporting runners having a dynamical advantage over Kimmich and Martinez.

Overall, PSG were quite reliant on their star talent up front, and even though the three of them put together impressive individual performances, the team performance from PSG wasn’t that formidable. While the three of them were switched on for the occasion, teams that are more stable in transition and defensively minded should be able to cope with most of the attacks that Emery’s club displayed. Bayern were so vulnerable partially because of overcommitting numbers on the ball into zones that cannot access the center easily to defend transitions, in addition to a lack of staggering in the penalty area to be able to prevent the supply into the forwards. PSG looked good, but they didn’t perform at a level where they can be considered favorites for the Champions League just yet.

Later Developments

To start the second half, Sebastian Rudy took place of Tolisso and Thiago was moved up to the 8, allowing him to have more of an influence higher up the pitch. Kingsley Coman replaced James Rodriguez and played narrower in relation to where the Colombian roamed in the first half.  There was a slight improvement in Bayern’s attack when it came to the quality of their progressions and attacks, but largely the same trends existed as the first half. Once Neymar scored the final goal, the game began to spread out and PSG continued to threaten on the counter attack, but it was largely the same story as the first 60 minutes.

xG of the match courtesy of Michael Caley

Neymar, presumably looking for glory, began to dribble at a much higher frequency than he did earlier in the match to try and put on a show, which only led to Bayern fouling him and targeting him with aggressive challenges. All of PSG’s substitutions were just to give players who performed well rest, but it is scary from a rival’s standpoint to think about Julian Draxler coming into the game in the 88th to kill time, speaking to the depth of quality Paris have managed to bring in.

Conclusion

This match was evidently the last straw for the Bayern board when it came to the team’s performance under Carlo Ancelloti. It isn’t the business of Spielverlagerung to speculate why the board chose to part ways with the Italian, but with Willy Sagnol taking charge on an interim basis for now, they will be one to watch and notice if there is any supposed improvement with the Frenchman at the helm.

It would be intruiging to see how the match would’ve played out with a healthy Manuel Neuer, as the first goal which tucked underneath Ulreich’s legs appears like it would’ve been saved by the titanic goalkeeper. Add in some additional replacements in team selection such as Rudy from the beginning, Ribery and Robben, and the match could have been entirely different. However, that is what the challenge and beauty of the Champions League is, as managers must find the right squad for the right opponent, and that often means in the later stages sitting exceptional players who easily could’ve made an impact on the match. When it pays off, the manager is the hero, and when it doesn’t, the footballing world turns against them. Football, bloody hell.

For an additional perspective of the match, TR analyzed this match on our German site if you would like to check that out.