Barcelona tactics
Apart from the expected change in goal, Barcelona retained the same players who thumped Cordoba 8-0 last weekend. The Catalan giants set up in a familiar 4-3-3 formation, looking to dominate possession and offer their front-three the platform on which to win the game.
Jordi Alba was fit to start despite a slight scare over the last few days so he and Dani Alves pushed into the Bayern half to supply width down the flanks, while Sergio Busquets sat in front of central defenders as a defensive midfielder.
Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic worked as advanced central midfielders, with Iniesta linking up play and looking to pick out the strikers with cute passes. The more athletic Rakitic frequently made third-man midfield runs into the box to support the strikers.
Up top, Luis Suarez continued as the centre forward making runs in behind to get on the end of balls played over the top while also working across the width of the penalty box as a target. Neymar kept width down the left flank, looking to receive the ball and run at defenders. Lionel Messi drifted inside from the right flank to work between the lines.
When out of possession, Suarez led the pressing while Messi and Neymar pressed from the sides of midfield. In central midfield, Busquets defended just in front of the back-four while Rakitic and Iniesta pressed in more advanced positions.
Bayern Munich tactics
Pep Guardiola surprised many with his brave tactics as he sat his side up in a 3-4-1-2 formation to man-mark Barcelona with a high pressing approach.
That meant the back-three had to deal with Barcelona’s terrifying forward trio without any extra central defender for cover. Rafinha operated from the left side of central defence, so he minded Messi, while Jerome Boateng and Medhi Benatia closed down Suarez and Neymar respectively.
With the central defenders minding Barcelona’s forwards, wing-backs Juan Bernat and Thiago Alcantara pushed on to engage the host’s full-backs.
The strikers completed the man-marking by leading the high pressing on the Catalan giants’ central defenders.
In central midfield, Xabi Alonso and Philipp Lahm dealt with Barca’s advanced central midfielders from the base of midfield while Bastian Schweinsteiger minded Busquets from the top of the Bavarian giants’ central midfield.
Guardiola probably expected Barcelona to enjoy more possession so he detailed his side to mix their usual possession-based offensive approach with counter-attacks. The two strikers had to split to occupy the space that Alba and Alves left behind them down the flanks.
Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski looked to get service in those pockets of space when Barcelona were still transitioning back to their defensive shape. Schweinsteiger made runs from midfield to support the forwards during those quick transitional plays.
When Bayern had good possession, they had to play out from the back as usual with defenders initiating attacks while the wing-backs disappeared into the offensive half. In central midfield, Lahm had more freedom to push forward and join Schweinsteiger in working as ball players just behind the strikers.
Key tactical changes
Barcelona started strongly, bypassed Bayern’s high press and caused a lot of problems to the visitors’ back-three.
The pacy Suarez inevitably exposed the relatively slow Boateng to get on the end of floated balls over the top while Messi and Neymar enjoyed isolated moments to dribble past central defenders. That meant goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to be at his best to keep the Bavarian giants in the game during the opening 15 minutes.
Guardiola had no choice but to quickly change the shape of his side. The game plan remained: they had to begin man-marking deep in the offensive half to limit the supply that reached the likes of Messi and Suarez.
Bayern switched to a 4-4-2 diamond formation, so Schweinsteiger retained his number 10 role behind the strikers. Lahm and Alcantara worked from the sides of the diamond while Alonso defended from its base.
That change allowed the Bavarian giants to have a solid back-four, with Rafinha in a natural right-back slot, Bernat at left-back plus Boateng and Benatia as the central defenders. Guardiola’s men markedly improved defensively after the scary opening quarter-of-an-hour.
By the second-half, Bayern were comfortable enough to dominate periods of the game but the game seemed destined to end 0-0. That was, of course, before Messi destroyed Guardiola’s charges with his magic.
Both sides made a couple of direct changes but the result never seemed in doubt after Messi’s brace.
