#UCL
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Another special coverage, this time of the UEFA Champions league clash
. Atlรฉtico de Madrid
!
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@DerAugustus

Another special coverage, this time of the UEFA Champions league clash


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One of the toughest opponents Bayern have faced in the last decade. We met the first time in the semi-finals of the 15/16 CL, it was Atlรฉti who progressed to the final on the away goals rule. The Spaniards won 1-0 in Madrid, meaning our 2-1 win at home was not enough.
The two clubs met again in the group stage the following season, with both teams winning 1-0 at home and eventually progressing to the knockout stages with Atleti finishing first.
We did fail to score in Madrid but we never failed to win in the Allianz Arena!
We did fail to score in Madrid but we never failed to win in the Allianz Arena!


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As we all know Atleti set up in a 4-4-2 formation. Diego Simeoneโs side are famous for being defensively resilient, hard working and difficult to break down.

If you didn't know it by now, Simeone doesn't like possession instead he likes to dominate matches by occupying spaces. Atleti are very disclipined, vertically compact and narrow.


They like to sit deep, the two strikers tend to give the
opposition CB's enough space to move forward with the ball before pressing them. In doing so, they help the midfielders closing down the center so there is little to no space for the opponent to play centrally, pushing the defenders to pass the ball laterally.
A dangerous trap.
A dangerous trap.
Simeone's team is all about minimizing risk, which means every player has to understand perfectly his role within the team, they defend all together to minimize space in central areas while counting on a tall and dominante CB partnership to win the areal duels and a beast GK
to save whatever's left.
This compact 4-4-2 is frustrating to play against, which leads to many mistakes that Atleti try to exploit being very fast on the counter, very clinical in front of the goal ( Not so much last few seasons ) and DANGEROUS on set pieces.
This compact 4-4-2 is frustrating to play against, which leads to many mistakes that Atleti try to exploit being very fast on the counter, very clinical in front of the goal ( Not so much last few seasons ) and DANGEROUS on set pieces.
Many clubs tried to break them down, Bayern 2016, Real Madrid 2016, Liverpool 2019, Leipzig 2019 etc... For Liverpool the away game plan was a failure, Klopp later understood that Salah/Mane won't find enough space and their pace will be useless so he prepared himself for a (1)
legendary 2nd tie, this time the plan was simple if "Atlรฉtico are willing to offer our FB's enough space on the flanks then we will be bombarding their box with crosses."
A plan that worked fine, there's no team that can stop 52 attempted crosses even if Atleti did a GREAT job.
A plan that worked fine, there's no team that can stop 52 attempted crosses even if Atleti did a GREAT job.
Liverpool had only 3 shots on target, all originating from crosses in 90 min and scored one goal... Way better result than the 0 shots on target they had in Madrid.
Very few clubs managed to beat Atleti over two legs but only one club completely dominated the Spaniards
Very few clubs managed to beat Atleti over two legs but only one club completely dominated the Spaniards
Yes, RB Leipzig.
I spent lot of time thinking about how can a top team manage to outplay Atleti's double block and then one man made it all clear.
Nagelsmann teams were always known for being very flexible & that was the key all the way to break down Atletico's defense!
I spent lot of time thinking about how can a top team manage to outplay Atleti's double block and then one man made it all clear.
Nagelsmann teams were always known for being very flexible & that was the key all the way to break down Atletico's defense!
Leipzig defended in a 4-2-2-2 to cover the flanks but most importantly attacked in a 3-1-5-1 / 3-1-4-2 that completely disorganized Atleti's blocks.
The 3 defenders outnumbered Atleti 2 strikers which made it easy for them to dribble past their press & by encouraging his CBs (1)
The 3 defenders outnumbered Atleti 2 strikers which made it easy for them to dribble past their press & by encouraging his CBs (1)
to carry the ball up the pitch and by positionning 3 players at all times between Atleti's midfield and defense. Nagelsmann took a bet on a very risky and innovative tactic. He managed to create so much space in Atleti's defense something no other coach could do before.

No one knows Bayern better than Flick but let's play the pundits for a bit huh ? What would you do if you were Flick ? I personally would rely on what Nagelsmann did few months ago alterning between the 4-2-3-1 and the 3-1-4-2.
I know it looks crazy but Bayern can defend in a 4-2-3-1 and build up in a sort of 3-4-3 which will give our CB's more space to carry the ball forward canceling Suarez/Felix and pushing their CM's out.
Relying on Kimmich in the midfield and Goretzka/Muller between the lines
Relying on Kimmich in the midfield and Goretzka/Muller between the lines
Davies and Coman on the flanks for the 1vs1 with Gnabry and Muller helping them and offering them options to play the ball forward or to combine in order to create space for a cross etc... And of course Lewandowski upfront being the most complete forward in the game.

Bayern and Atleti have a few injury concerns ahead of the game.




This game will be very important in order to secure the first spot in our UCL group. Atleti are in a good shape but we must dominate and win the game to send a strong signal that Bayern are still the best team in Europe.

- Neuer / Oblak : Simply the two best GK's in the world.
- Flick / Simeone : Clash of the titans.
- Hernandez / Atleti : Lucas vs. his old friends
- Lewandowski / Suarez :
