Another team that parked a nuke to defend against Bayern, and another blank drawn by the German powerhouse. It's a little trend that's now spreading amongst teams trying to find a way of beating and not getting slashed and pimp-slapped by the superbly talented Bayern. Defend deep, and counter them.
For Pep, he has to get back into the lab and find a way of breaking down teams that sit so deep, and who look to try and catch Boateng or Alaba off-guard once they get possession of the ball. More and more teams will be doing this, because the name of the game is winning...not trying to look pretty and entertain the watching crowd. Yes, it's frustrating for the Bayern players as well as Pep, but this is what football is about. It's about problem-solving, and figuring out ways of beating teams who can play in a variety of ways. There is no "right" way of playing the sport of football. If you win, you did your job.
In order to try and beat teams like these, the passing game is not always going to work. You can keep the ball for a generation, and still not end up scoring. Sometimes, you will get that one chance and will be able to put it away, as Bayern have managed to do against these teams. But it's just not always going to pan out that way. As the results against Arsenal and Frankfurt have shown, they have had great opportunities, but by not putting them away they've ended up either losing or drawing games that they ought to have one.
Pep needs to take more of an initiative against these teams. Players like Costa are perfect for this. He's a winger, who is very skilled, and can beat you both on the inside and the outside which means he can take players out of position and thus create space for Lewandowski and Muller to exploit. There needs to be far more urgency with Pep's teams when up against the double-decker bus that is parked in front of them. Of course it's difficult to break down nine men, but relying on the pass and being hopeful of that one through-ball is not advisable. You need to vary things between passing, dribbling and taking shots. It's about making that defense you are up against be on their toes and being unpredictable in how you attack them. Eventually, with such a variation of attacks, the defense will cave under the pressure and that goal will come.
For Wednesday, I am leaning towards Bayern. I'd love to have another vision and say Arsenal will do the double over them, but that's being unwise and highly disrespectful to the talents of the German club. Arsenal will give it a good game and they will have their chances, but I do believe that Pep will still stick with the passing game but when you have guys like Robben and now Costa on your team, those chances that went astray before, will now end up in the back of the net. But in the long run, variation is the key.
HH
