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Bayern downs Hannover 4:0 with scoring instinct

0:4

FC Bayern didn’t play its best game of the season on Sunday, but a big dose of efficiency allowed it to cruise past Hannover 4:0 in their own stadium. The return to 4-2-3-1 has finally been made official.

First half: saved by two plays

Pep finally declared his 4-2-3-1 formation, both in the official lineup and on the club’s Twitter account. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm lined up at number 6, with Javi playing in central defence and Thiago being declared the playmaker. Positions swaps were a bit less frequent, although Thiago often went wide on the right to set up passes and crosses to Müller and Mandzukic as time progressed.

The problem is that Hannover was the threatening side for most of the half, taking advantage of misplaced passes and lost balls by Die Roten, who gave it away cheaply in the first 20-25 minutes. Tom Starke had to come out in the 16th minute to stop a dangerous attack.

Hannover attacked FCB a lot on their right flank, forcing Javi and Rafinha to track back quickly. For its part, Die Bayern asserted control gradually, but the flow of their plays was missing and a number of their passes were intercepted. Thiago provided balls to Mario Mandzukic, who struggled against Marcelo, and to Müller. Both received and took shots from the middle of the area.

Müller basically undid 25 minutes of average play with his opener. Basti set up Thiago beautifully when sending him a lob towards the left of the area for the second goal.

Second half: Big dose of efficiency

Hannover restarted with possession and more threats, but once again, Bayern was more efficient when it produced a good chance. The visitors attacked with more intent this time, finding space where they previously failed to do so.

We saw vast improvement in David Alaba’s play in this game. In the last 20 minutes, he stuck a foot out after Kroos lost the ball, sending the ball back to Starke who dribbled against an attacker. Then, Alaba tracked back on a promising Hannover attack on their right flank, making sure that they couldn’t send an accurate cross to the middle. But in the late stages, the right flank was uncovered and Hannover could have stained the clean sheet.

Mario Götze was invisible for a good part of the game. Pep was right to take him out. Pep smartly rotated his players, taking Müller out after his second goal and Schweinsteiger out after 71 minutes of play. The vice-captain put in a good shift in central midfield, ensuring that his comeback would contribute to a victory.

The spin

A great game? No. Müller and company were very efficient today and Tom Starke played a solid game. Hannover could have scored a couple of goals while the Reds converted with flair when they had to.

Goals

1:0 Thomas Müller gets a cross from Rafinha and sends a laser header in (25')

2:0 Schweinsteiger spots Thiago going towards the area, lobs it. Thiago sprints, controls and shoots it in (34')

3:0 Müller gets a backheel from Mandzukic on an Alaba pass in the area and he makes the nettings shake (59')

4:0 Mario Mandzukic rises up in the box to take a cross from Rafinha on the right and put it in (66')

Lineups

Tactical analysis: Bayern’s risky high line of defence in Hannover

Hannover Bayern tactical analysis: a high line of defence should have made Bayern concede a goal or two, had Tom Starke failed to come out and protect his clean sheet himself several times. FCB also manufactured a few great plays to beat their opponents.

Tactical points

The Rekordmeister played with a very high line of defence on a regular basis, getting caught when going forward. It gave Hannover the chance to recover lost balls or bad passes to create chances.

Javi’s worst play of the game seems to have set the tone here. In the very first minute, he sent a pass back without a target and Hannover took it to attack.

The pass to nobody

Similarly, Lahm losing the ball past just before the last third of the pitch (also in the middle on the screenshot) helped Hannover turn the play around while a good number of Bayern players were caught forward. Immediate counter.

Dangerous

When Hannover’s players turned the ball around, FCB didn’t mark them properly. Two excellent passing options are available on the next screen shot and it leads to a shot.

Just how high was the defensive line? Against a resilient Hannover, Boateng roamed on the left wing to make a play.

Boateng high up there

Hannover adopted close man marking tactics in the first half. This forces any attacking squad to be extra careful to protect the ball.

The following three graphics bother me because they help to explain today’s problems.

The first represents the positions where Bayern lost the ball in the first half, getting caught forward, allowing Hannover to regain possession to attack and create chances.

Right where they can take it away and run.

The second represents Hannover’s interceptions. Roughly in the same area of the pitch, when you keep in mind that the side is reversed.

The third represents defensive challenges lost. Each orange X is a failure. A good number took place in the middle of the pitch and on the right flank.

Although he generally played well, Alaba made a mistake late in the game, forgetting his coverage at left-back. It created quite a scoring chance.

No no no

Beating Hannover’s defence

They worked hard, but Hannover still had defensive problems and getting the ball behind them was a key that we identified in our match preview. Rafinha did that on the following play, setting up a header for Mandzukic. Unfortunately, Luigi struggled against the central defence for most of the game. He couldn’t put that one away.

If you have been following Bayern this season, the passing game clearly has changed with players often working with triangles or diamonds around the defence. I have seen a few interesting plays of that kind, such as the following in the second half.

1:0 Müller goal. Rafinha had a solid game, finding space on the right wing to send crosses in. He did it perfectly on the first goal. Excellent execution.

Ball zooming in

2:0 Thiago goal. A clear case of putting the ball behind Hannover. Bastian Schweinsteiger saw Thiago getting ready for a run. With his perfect technique, he sent the ball up for the playmaker to chest it down and kick it in.

Surprise

3:0 Müller goal. Everybody will notice the backheel on that play, but it’s Müller’s movement that makes it possible. He makes one of his classic, hard runs towards goal for several meters before he can meet the ball.

Rushing in

4:0 Mandzukic goal. This is nothing but execution. Rafinha goes wide on the right and delivers an accurate cross to Mandzukic. Yes, his air game is tactically important. He can score goals like that against almost anyone, even on a rough day.

Statistical points

My man of the match

Javi Martinez. 14 clearances. 26 challenges won. Four interceptions. Clearly making a case for himself as a central defender now. Look at his dashboard below:

Great, except for the long passes to the left. So many clearances in the middle.

FCB KidsClub Schneetag mit Berni

Robben and Thiago skills