Match Analyses: Munich - Allianz Arena, 05.04.2016. 20:45

Referee: Szymon Marciniak

Attendance: 70000

FC BAYERN MUNICH

Coach: Pep Guardiola

Playing System: 4-3-3

SL BENFICA

Coach: Rui Vitória

Playing System: 4-4-2

SL Benfica Defence

 Benfica Defence 1  

Benfica didn't go to the Allianz Arena to play an open game with the risk of losing it by a serious margin. They though didn't want to defend during the whole game so they slowed down Bayern's build-up play by pressing them when it was needed. Though it wasn't a real pressing, this tactics seemed to be working.
We can see the Benfica pressing with couple of players covering their pressing teammate. Bayern had to wait until Benfica steppes backwards and there is space on the other flank.

 Benfica Defence 2

As soon as Bayern brought the ball out from the risky area, Benfica players started to regroup and step back.

 Benfica Defence 3

This is Benfica on their own half. They were quite solid and well-organised but sometimes they couldn't deal with the long balls and regrouping after these crosses. The key for Bayern was the three organiser player in midfield. Thiago, Vidal and Lahm played quite far away from each other so Mitroglou and Jonas couldn't defend against them. One of the three was always left free and could make horizontal passes if needed.

FC Bayern Attack

 Bayern Attack 1

It was previously expected what Bayern are going to play during this game. They started with ball possession to outrun the opposition and gain some confidence at the start of the first 90 minutes. The previously predicted formation has been changed as soon as Guardiola knew that Benfica aren't going to press high.
Lahm stepped in, so he and Thiago became the two deep organiser midfielder while Kimmich and Alaba stayed back. Bernat often ran high and this tactics is called optimal risktaking. Bayern did what was needed against this defence.

 Bayern Attack 2

Benfica was defending deep but their players were quite far away from each other. It seemed in the first couple of minutes like they were unorganized. Bayern played with Ribery and Costa on the wings and they were played the ball so many times during the game. Ribery is right-footed while Costa is left-footed and both of them are great dribblers so they could beat their man and go towards the centre. As soon as this happened, Lewandowski and Müller were making runs behind the defence. These runs are pretty hard to track. The situation in the previous picture is the action before the goal. Lewandowski got the ball but couldn't turn towards the goal. The goalscorer was Vidal who we couldn't see in the picture. That run from a deepish position is one of the hardest to track. This was Guardiola's tactics during the game. He was well-prepared for this game and taught his players to make runs that are hard to track. This was taught through principles. He also chosen great players to execute this attacking football tactics.

SL Benfica Attack

 Benfica has pretty strong players who are able to win battles in the air. Statistically they won 20 aerials during the game and made 17 tackles moreover. They had a worse pass success percentage but they knew they can't really beat Bayern on the ground so they chose to play long and use their decent strikers. It was clear for Benfica players that they won't make every long ball perfectly so they had to regroup near the ball as soon as it was possible. The away side haven't always won these battles but they managed to recover the ball after these through good reorganisation.  This led them win the ball high and create chances through these. Mitroglou won 4 aerial duels during the game and had 2 shots in total after these 1v1s. A 1-0 scoreline for Bayern is not a bad result for Benfica so they didn't take too many risks as they didn't need to.

SUMMARY

Bayern mastered the midfield and made most of their passes there to move the opposition. Benfica played 20% of their passes long and most of their passes were played towards the attacking third. Though Mitroglou had a great chance to score, Benfica tried to use their individuals instead of their team. Individuals can win games but it is really hard to play against a Guardiola team.
Nothing has been decided during this 90 minutes and it is possible that many goals will be scored in the second leg. Bayern have to be more precise in the final third but they won't take too much risk in Portugal.