Analysis, Bayern 7-1 Salzburg | UEFA Champions League

In this article presented by FedEx, UEFA’s Technical Observer Panel looks at how Bayern outplayed Salzburg, dominating possession and pressing high upfield to score seven goals to the Austrian champions and claim an 8-2 aggregate win.

Match sheet

Watch the goals

In two minutes, Bayern 7-1 Salzburg

1-0: Robert Lewandowski (s.p., 12^e)

2-0: Robert Lewandowski (pen, 21^e)

3-0: Robert Lewandowski (23^e)

4-0: Serge Gnabry (31^e)

5-0: Thomas Muller (54^e)

5-1: Maurits Kjærgaard (70^e)

6-1: Thomas Muller (83^e)

7-1: Leroy Sané (85^e)

Man of the match: Robert Lewandowski

Systems

Bayern

Coach Julian Nagelsmann kept his defense at three, with Niklas Süle (4) as centre-back and Benjamin Pavard (5) and Lucas Hernández (21) as centre-backs. Joshua Kimmich (6) and Jamal Musiala (42) acted as midfielders in front of the defense and looked to link the back three to the men in front – five attacking players with the freedom to move and switch.

In this quintet, Serge Gnabry (7) and Kingsley Coman (11) ensured the races on the wings, while Thomas Müller (25) and Leroy Sane (10) operated in the half-spaces. Robert Lewandowski (9) was often looking to receive the ball at the feet.

Outside of possession, Bayern’s formation was much the same. Such was Bayern’s dominance in possession of the ball that the starting positions when losing possession were usually high upfield in Salzburg’s half. This allowed for high pressure from transition and led to 11 digs in Salzburg’s final 30 yards – eight of which brought shots (the second highest number of this 2021/22 season).

Salzburg

The visitors settled into a 4-3-1-2 formation with and without the ball. At times their organization seemed very narrow as they sought to compact the central areas of the pitch. With 28% possession, they looked to defend from a medium/low block for the majority of the game and their threat came from winning the ball and immediately counter-attacking. They might have scored twice in the opening five minutes following winning the ball and endangering Bayern’s exposed defence; they ended up scoring that way in the second half.

Highlights

In a 3-2-4-1, Bayern dominated the game, registering 752 assists and finishing with 72% possession. The Germans outclassed Salzburg in all areas of the pitch. The first clip of the video at the top of the page shows how the three central defenders were able to contain the two Salzburg forwards, Pavard and Hernández playing wide to stretch the game. In front of them, Kimmich and Musiala were able to play around Aaronson who was alone in the number 10 position, while Bayern’s five forwards looked to play between the lines while taking advantage of the width provided by Gnabry and Coman.

This ability to find spaces between the lines – as the video highlights – was epitomized by Müller, who was constantly looking to receive the ball in these areas.

Bayern’s attacking positioning also allowed them to be well placed when they lost possession, which, in turn, meant they might react quickly and press immediately in transition – as seen on Gnabry’s goal. Sané underlined this desire to make efforts without the ball because, in addition to a goal and two assists, he recorded six recoveries.

Serge Gnabry celebrates his goal once morest SalzburgFC Bayern via Getty Images

As for Salzburg, under high pressure from Bayern, they looked to build, both in open play and on goal kicks. This has come at times to their detriment, as evidenced by Bayern’s 11 digs in their Austrian final 30 yards and the seventh goal conceded, which came following they lost possession trying to develop a left-sided attack.

Salzburg’s main attacking threat came when the Austrians won the ball and looked to project themselves quickly, exploiting Bayern’s wide positioning. Bayern’s reaction to losing the ball prevented this from happening too often, but the ease with which Salzburg managed to score – and this potential imbalance between attack and defense – might give Nagelsmann food for thought.