re: Match Day 3/13 UCL

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The whole thing sounds like if Bayern has actually tried they would have gone through. They did try and flat out got beat.

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No, it sounds like putting responsibility on Kovac. Bayern have passers from deep that could break the Pool press, but they rarely tried to find balls that would put Pool under pressure. It did somewhat mitigate the counter-press, but Pool were far better in possession and the counter-attack.

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Bayern dominated long stretches of the match but where shocking in the final third

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Just cause you have possession doesn’t mean you’re dominating. Would expect even a manc to understand that.

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Just cause you have possession doesn’t mean you’re dominating. Would expect even a manc to understand that.

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A trophy dodger should be the last one giving football lessons

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Their inability to make the final pass after a decent build up was pretty bad

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They weren't even making passes between the lines in the middle third. They moved the ball around the back a bunch to move Pool up the field and then tried long passes on to the forward line.

It was a pretty poor gameplan overall.

Yeah I was surprised they didn't do draw Pool to one of the wings and then spring a pass to a fullback. Pool's defensive spacing is so good that it's hard to bend them out of shape. A CB like Hummels can usually play wide, angled balls to one of the full-backs, which would have given those full-backs 1 v 1 opportunities against the opposition full-backs, since Pool's wingers tend to stay high up the field. Instead they wanted to keep a spare man at the back, to make sure they weren't caught-out on the counter, meaning the fullbacks stayed relatively narrow and close to the CB's.

Disappointing, because Kimmich and Alaba are great FB's, and Munich does have passers who could complete those balls. The slow, ponderous build-up doesn't seem to work against Pool either, as their spacing is so good it never feels like a player can be out-numbered. It makes little sense to have such a slow build-up but not attempt to work the middle. Bayern lacked a link player, but James can play that role easily. No clue what Kovac's intent was.

Bayern looked completely content to play square passes amongst the back 4, entirely too afraid to challenge LFC’s press. James was terrible. He’s slow and looks afraid to touch the ball with his right foot, even for something as menial as a short pass.

Hummels looked good, Neuer past it, and Thiago played with a ton of heart. Really seemed the only Bayern player who was all-in. Rafinha was an absolute liability in the back.

Time for the Bavarian overhaul. Hopefully Uli and co focus on guys for Kovac’s system rather than buying the youngest, most promising German without vision for Kovac’s tactics. He’s probably creaming his pants thinking about buying Werner this summer and I really don’t know where he fits

Classic SCH analysis

Dominated the game, just got unlucky

I never said Bayern were unlucky

They were utter shite in the final third

The Liverpool midfield still leaves a lot to be desired