Bayern Munich met Barcelona in the 2012-2013 Champions League semifinals. At that time, Barcelona was at the peak of the game with players like Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, to Gerard Pique.
Bayern Munich unexpectedly can win a big 4-0. The four FC Hollywood goals were scored by Thomas Muller (25′, 82′), Mario Gomez (49′), and Arjen Robben (73′). Bayern who played effectively beat Barca’s famous tactic, tiki-taka.
Bayern Munich coach at the time, Jupp Heynckes, chose a 4-2-3-1 formation with a defensive emphasis. In fact, at times, it seemed as if Bayern didn’t have a striker.
Meanwhile, Tito Vilanova applies a 4-3-3 formation for Barcelona. Barca use both wings to score goals.
Lionel Messi who had doubts appeared to play from the start. Meanwhile, Mario Gomez came on to replace Mario Mandzukic who was suspended. Meanwhile, Arjen Robben started from the right side.
Bayern Munich let Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra have the ball longer. Bayern anticipate it by giving Thomas Muller freedom to do pressing.
Interestingly, it was Gomez who got the task of guarding and overshadowing Sergio Busquets. When Busquets started to enter the Bayern field, Gomez immediately approached.
In fact, what Heynckes applied was not pure gegen pressing. There are only a few players who are tasked with chasing the ball and guarding the area.
The most risky part of Bayern’s tactics is playing with a high defensive line. Barca have Alexis Sanchez, Messi, and Pedro who are ready to spread threats with speed.
Bayern’s key to reducing Barcelona’s game is in the role of Javi Martinez. The former Athletic Bilbao player performed brilliantly by recording six tackles plus two interceptions. Another important part is that Javi Martinez is also actively assisting the attack.
The role of Javi Martinez also gets support from Bastian Schweinsteiger. The German midfielder played with high mobility and complemented each other with Muller.
Die Roten faced problems when Martinez was shown a yellow card early in the second half. This situation makes Martinez’s movement a little bit stuck.
However, with the tactics that have been applied since the beginning of the match, the stamina of the Barcelona players dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, Bayern are in much better form.
Then, Bayern Munich changed tactics from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-1-1. That way, the role of Franck Ribery and Robben is maximized.
As a result, Bayern Munich made Barcelona’s defense dizzy. Bayern scored three goals to make the match ended with the score 4-0.
Bayern’s burden in the second leg is clearly lighter. The defeat of four goals without reply makes Barcelona have a difficult mission.
The Blaugrana faced a complicated problem after Lionel Messi was unable to play. The role of La Pulga was replaced by Cesc Fabregas.
Tito Villanova also made changes by playing David Villa from the early minutes. Meanwhile, Alex Song plays as an anchor midfielder.
Bayern scored the first goal through Robben’s movement from the right wing in the 49th minute. The former Chelsea player took out his flagship weapon, namely bending the ball before opening a shot.
Barcelona sinking further after Pique made an own goal in the 72nd minute. Intending to do a challenge, but the ball from the defender’s kick actually went into the goal.
Disastrous for Barcelona came back four minutes later. Ribery accelerated from the left wing before providing a pass. Muller met the ball with a header. Even though Victor Valdes had tried to stem it, goals were unavoidable.
Bayern ended the game with a 7-0 aggregate lead. In the final match, they overthrew another Bundesliga representative, Borussia Dortmund.
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