Tactical Profile: FC Bayern Munich Women 2020/21 (Part Eight)
Having analysed Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich in the past, I wanted to examine the tactical framework of FC Bayern’s women’s side, who currently rank first in the Frauen-Bundesliga (two points ahead of Wolfsburg). The team’s goalscoring and defensive record (at the time of writing) is scarcely believable — 74 goals for, and a measly 9 against. They are by far the Bundesliga’s most potent side — Wolfsburg rank second in goals scored, with 59 across the 19 games played so far. Through this series, I wanted to analyse the games that Bayern have played in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, in a bid to understand the trends that underpin this team’s tactical framework.
[Previous posts in the series: Ajax (Part One, Part Two); Rosengård (Part Three, Part Four); Chelsea (Part Five, Part Six) and Wolfsburg (Part Seven).]
To recap, the idea behind this series was to analyse the principles on which this iteration of Bayern Frauen is built. While I would have liked to view a lot more footage, resource limitations have left me with a sample size of seven games, albeit ones that illustrate well how Bayern like to play. It’s given me a good grip of what this side does best and what they struggle against, and what their prospects are going forward.
Here, I attempt to put it all together as part of an all-encompassing tactical portrait.
Buildup Play
First and foremost, the thing that stands out about Bayern is their preference to build from the back. There have been plenty of instances when goalkeeper Laura Benkarth sends the ball long, but by and large this is a team that likes to bring the ball out slowly.
Most often, the shape adopted has been a 4–2–3–1 structure, where Sarah Zadrazil and Lina Magull form the double pivot in front of a revolving cast of defenders (usually Marina Hegering and Amanda Ilestedt or Carina Wenninger). The two midfielders either create a midfield box or move to different heights; usually, it is Magull who either moves into advanced positions or beside the center-backs. In taking up these positions, the idea is to give the center-backs options in buildup, through which the fullbacks and attackers can be easily accessed.
A good example of this is the first leg against Rosengård, where the Swedish side focused on pressing the Bayern midfielders and preventing central progression. In response, Zadrazil dropped into the defensive line with Magull acting as the temporary single pivot, allowing the fullbacks to push up high. The dropping movements created a numerical superiority in buildup through which the lone striker could be easily surpassed, which created a secure base for circulation. In the second half, Benkarth took up the role of the middle center-back and allowed the double pivot to move into higher locations, which pinned the midfield and provided for easy circulation. Essentially, Bayern baited pressure and used up, back and through sequences to evade and progress centrally, pressuring an over-matched midfield in the process.
However, this is not all, since the two midfielders also manipulate space to open up passing lanes. We saw this in either leg against Ajax, where the Dutch side were outclassed over the course of the tie.
In the first leg, we saw the creation of a three-woman base, with Marina Hegering as the middle center-back with Amanda Ilestedt and Carina Wenninger on either side. This was largely in order to counter Ajax’s 5–3–2 shape, with Bayern bringing this shape back only in the first leg against Chelsea.
Since Bayern were placed under minimal pressure, Hegering was able to dictate play freely with most of the game taking place in the Ajax half. Letting a passer of her calibre dictate play is generally not a good idea, and Ajax were made to pay for this lapse. Key to the effectiveness of the buildup were Zadrazil and Magull — the former bound Ajax’s frontline to herself by threatening to move out of their cover shadow, whereas the latter made herself available for short passes and combinations by dropping from advanced areas and generally dragging a player with her. Taken together, these movements opened up passing lanes into midfield and created options, with correctly weighted passes allowing the attackers to receive and attack on the run. The speed of movement and security in passing was enough to disorient Ajax, who rarely got the ball in the defeat.
The manipulation of schemes was also clear in the second leg, which featured Magull at the base of a 4–3–3 structure with Ajax pressuring the Bayern fullbacks when the pass was made to them.
Against this, it was easy for Bayern to bait and manipulate the press, since they passed to the fullbacks and immediately made themselves accessible for return passes, layoffs or flick-ons to the winger. To achieve this, Bayern put the winger and center-back in the same lane as the fullback, which made it easy to pass the ball back or pass ‘with the grain’ into advanced areas. Since Magull and Sydney Lohmann made themselves available behind the pressing line, passes inside were another avenue, which broke Ajax’s press and allowed Bayern to drive into space.
Throughout these scenes, the fullbacks either offer as an option or take up higher positions, but in the initial phases, their role is mainly to recirculate to the center-back so that they receive without pressure. We saw this against Wolfsburg, where Magull dropped beside the defence and established a connection to the winger using fullback Hanna Glas as a conduit.
Any analysis of Bayern’s buildup would be incomplete without mentioning their flexibility in formations and ability to go long. In the games I’ve watched, the team has cycled through three formations, including two different iterations of the 5–3–2 shape. Against Ajax, the wingbacks were allowed free rein to go higher, while also coming deep to aid progression. In the first leg against Chelsea, their role was purely defensive, though Hanna Glas’ attacking runs were a key part of the offense. They are comfortable when the keeper goes long, seeking to win second balls and play direct football. However, there are times when this works against them, since long passes are essentially a coin flip.
Susceptibility to Pressure
Additionally, it has to be mentioned that when facing quality opponents who press well, Bayern’s buildup can suffer quite a bit. They can evade pressure in a pinch by circulating between the center-backs, fullbacks and double pivot, but accessing attackers beyond this base sometimes proves difficult.
The first team to prompt this observation was Rosengård, about whom I said this:
With Simon, Beerensteyn, Dallmann and Schüller staying in advanced positions, Rosengård’s press was executed to good effect, as Zadrazil and Magull were put under the kind of pressure that Ajax were simply unable to create. While they were secure enough to not concede possession (Hegering, Wenninger and keeper Benkarth are all proficient with the ball at their feet), accessing even the far side fullback (Amanda Ilestedt) proved difficult, with Glas looking to play it forward in the lane to Beerensteyn who could then drive against a retreating defence. It worked on a couple of occasions, but Bayern were mostly forced into conservative possession during this phase.
More significantly, it was Wolfsburg who exposed this weakness, pushing up to really press the buildup and squeezing the space available in midfield. Again, I’ll reproduce extracts from my review:
Wolfsburg would press the buildup rather aggressively, allowing the initial pass before collapsing on the ball carrier and surrounding teammates. During the initial ten minutes, Hegering and Ilestedt tried to progress the ball by hitting it along the wing to Bühl, but the latter was unable to continue the play as she was met with immediate resistance upon receiving the pass. Bayern could stabilise themselves by keeping the ball in the first line, since Wolfsburg dropped into a 4–1–4–1 shape if pressing the buildup was unsuccessful. This allowed Bayern to build from a little higher and with more time on the ball, though Wolfsburg did not cede too much space and kept the center covered.
And:
Occasionally, Wolfsburg’s shifting to their left could open up space on the right, and short ground passes to Ilestedt or Bühl allowed the Bavarians to gain some territory. However, Wolfsburg would jump into duels as soon as the second or third pass was made and would usually come up with the ball.
We also saw Chelsea exert a good amount of pressure on buildup, though coach Jens Scheuer’s concessions to the Blues meant that those lapses happened in extenuating circumstances. Still, this is an area of some concern for the Bavarians, which in my opinion can be ameliorated by better positioning within the structure and gradual development of chemistry between the players. Scheuer sometimes can be a bit conservative with his approach, but recognitions of the drawbacks of this structure could lead him to rethink his ideas.
Positional Play in Offense
There are many interpretations of positional play, but under Jens Scheuer, Bayern seem to prefer the conventional interpretation. There’s also a bit of conservatism involved, which we saw to some extent when discussing the buildup. In offensive areas, the team’s play is marked by short passing in midfield, width in advanced areas, staggering throughout the center and positional rotations in midfield and attack.
While Bayern sometimes struggle to maintain good connections to attack from deeper areas, they are much more adept at taking up the “correct” positions when in possession in advanced areas. A good example is the second leg against Ajax, where I described their patterns as follows:
Particularly, the 4–3–3 shape felt more rigid in this game, with players constantly moving to occupy channels at different heights to ensure that positioning within the structure was maintained (overloads on the ball side were a recurring, though not frequent, part of the game). Some fluidity was permitted, with Dallmann and Lohmann often exchanging sides. If Dallmann was on the left and pushed up to press, Pollak would drop inside to maintain the line of three, and if she was unavailable, then Magull would move out of her position with the confidence that someone would always come across to cover.
We also saw good use of structured play against Rosengård, where Bayern would progress to higher areas and drag them to the right by overloading the flank. However, the switch to winger Klara Bühl was always on, following which she received quick support from midfielders Lohmann and Magull. This switching of play is a constant for Bayern, where they look to get either their wingers or fullbacks into space and quickly surround them with requisite support. Key to this are the wingers, who generally take up good positions out wide where they can be easily accessed. While they act as conduits in possession, the impact of the wingers is mostly felt in the final third and in scenes where pressing is involved.
Additionally, fullback Hannah Glas is a particular beneficiary of these switches of play, as she looks to charge up the pitch to receive and attack the underload. She is generally more active than her counterpart on the left (Simon/Ilestedt), frequently seeking to support close-range combination play and work herself into good crossing positions. These two roles underpinned her exceptional performance in the first leg of the semi-finals, providing the assist for the opener and scoring the winner herself.
The idea behind emphasizing short passing is obvious, since it allows Bayern to retain possession while their attackers decipher the opposition block by moving into different areas and examining their reactions. It serves them well in both advanced and deep areas, and a frequent variation is when Magull drops to the side of the defence and constructs a diamond/pentagon on the right using the fullback, winger and the midfielders. We saw this against Wolfsburg where it allowed them to make progress down the right, but the physical prowess and intensity of the Wolves broke up the play before the situation could develop.
When taken together, I’d say Bayern are a team that don’t have a preference for how they like to attack — they will score from crosses as efficiently as from through balls. However, there is definitely more of a threat when the wingers are involved in the offense, since stretching defences to exploit channels is a recurring feature for the Bavarians. What is needed are players who ensure smoother transitions to advanced areas, as well as existing personnel gaining a better understanding of each other through increased game time.
Defence — Pressing and Counterpressing
As a German side, it’s almost a cliché that Bayern are a pressing team — nevertheless, it cannot be denied that they are an extremely effective side in this respect. Generally, the shape used is a 4–4–2 structure where the attacking midfielder steps up to join the striker, with the wingers taking up the fullbacks. The scheme is woman-oriented, with Bayern seeking to cover all options that may be available to the ball carrier while harassing her into a corner. Occasionally, the fullbacks also step up to engage opposition wingers and make progression difficult by constricting the space available.
Bayern’s defensive quality lies in the intensity of players when closing down and the aggression displayed by their double pivot in stepping up. Zadrazil is a defensive shield with an outstanding sense for intercepting passes; it is common to see her step out from the ‘six’ space to turn a pass into an attack for Bayern. Magull usually moves into higher areas to cover some options, but she is equally comfortable pressing with Zadrazil out of a low block as seen in the game against Chelsea. Together, they form a hellacious pressing line behind the forwards, all of whom are intelligent about closing down their direct opponents. If they get bypassed, Hegering is on hand to clean up the mistakes and retake possession, following which Bayern begin to exert their grip on the game.
These principles also underpin the counterpressing game, where Bayern’s already high positioning allows them quickly corner the ball carrier. They look to crowd the carrier and put enough pressure to dissuade the switch, with the far side fullback alert to the possibility of such a move. Again, the aggression is key — when allowed by Scheuer to play their natural game, there are few better at pressing than the Bavarians.
The use of the phrase “when allowed” is intentional, since the coach can sometimes adjust based on the opposition as seen against Chelsea. In these scenarios, Bayern turn the pressing down, opting to execute only in a few instances and instead focus on plugging gaps in the defensive block. The conservative approach was used over two legs, albeit the coach got his calculation wrong in the second leg at Kingsmeadow. Still, I think this flexibility is an ace up their sleeve since Bayern will largely play their own game — it is only when opposition quality is superior that the approach is revised.
What is common across these approaches is how Bayern defend the penalty area, with the defenders taking up narrow positions and blocking crosses into the box. Hegering is a key figure in defence, and was recognised for her play with a place in the UWCL team of the Season. Ilestedt and Wenninger did well when called upon, though I think the former can appear slightly weak at times. Ultimately, my assessment of the defence is largely positive — when prepared, this team can and will defend even the slimmest of leads.
Conclusion, and Some Thoughts on the Future
This, then, is the tactical makeup of this side — a conventional 4–2–3–1 team whose key qualities lie in their solid positional play and pressing intensity. As constructed, this side can mercilessly maul teams that do not contain enough star quality; however, place them against an equally matched side and they will almost certainly go in as the underdogs.
If the top tier of women’s football is currently occupied by the likes of Chelsea, Olympique Lyon and Barcelona, Bayern are in the tier below — a young team on the rise who will have to be moulded by the fires of European competition and demonstrate their toughness before they can rise to the top tier. They might yet win the Bundesliga from their position this season — no mean feat even against a Wolfsburg that lost its most dangerous player in Pernille Harder. However, new personnel in all three areas are a must; already, the wonderful Saki Kumagai has been signed to complement the Zadrazil — Magull midfield duo.
Ultimately, if you are a neutral, this is the right time to jump on the Bayern bandwagon. This is a team for the future that is shaping itself as we speak — I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Bavarian project unfolds over the next few years.
