3 Points on Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Juventus: Width, Pressing and Mandzukic

The odds of progressing into the final 4 are largely in favour of Bayern after their brilliant display against a strong Juventus side, who were never allowed a moment's rest by Ribery and Mandzukic. The Bavarian's lucky start with Alaba's deflected goal played a large role in their domination however, as they practically started on fifth gear.

The home side fielded their expected 4-2-3-1, with Gustavo replacing Javi Martinez alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger behind Toni Kroos, who early on was replaced by Robben due to the German international picking up a groin injury.

The Old Lady also started out in their standard 3-5-2 system, with Matri and Quagliarella leading the line as Vucinic was too ill to start. Peluso and Lichtsteiner flanked the midfield of Marchisio, Pirlo and Vidal.

Bayern Take Advantage on Flanks

When weighing up the two side's systems in anticipation of the high profile Champions League clash, it was evident straight away that Philipp Lahm and David Alaba would be crucial in the German's ventures forward. This was proven less than 30 seconds in when the latter of the two fired an albeit deflected shot past Gianluigi Buffon, putting Heynckes' men on the front foot.

Taken from www.whoscored.com

The effect of the two full-backs was made even greater when Toni Kroos suffered a groin injury early on, making way for Arjen Robben who then occupied the right flank opposite Ribery, with Muller moving central. With them both being able to cut inside joining Mario Mandzukic, they left space behind them for Alaba and Lahm, whilst putting Juve's wide men Peluso and Lichtsteiner under pressure as they were overloaded.

The statistic on the right, taken from WhoScored, clearly showed Bayern's plan in attack, rarely playing it down the centre and looking to focus their attacks down the flanks, through their brilliant wide men.

Also, on the left, the passing chalkboard reinforces that, you can cleary see the 'C' of passes, where Mandzukic and Muller were looking to stretch Juve's system and put their wing backs under pressure. 

That early start meant that the Bavarians, who in their previous match had smashed 9 past Hamburg, were set up to stay on the front foot throughout the whole match, given their high pressure system.

Pressing Upfield Stops Pirlo's Supply

With their intensive pressing and counterpressing, almost directly copied from Dortmund's system, Bayern closed down the 3 Juve centre-backs immediately upon receiving the ball from Buffon. The pressure from Bayern was alien to Conte's men, who were used to a slower tempo in the Serie A, and this was evident as they looked uncomfortable playing the ball out from defence and because of that struggled with just 45% possession.

When Chiellini, Bonucci, and Barzagli did get the ball to Pirlo however, Bayern pressed even more intensely and as a result of that, the Italian playmaker had the second-worst pass completion rate of the 20 starting outfield players, at 70% of his 37 passes finding their men. Due to his poor passing, Pirlo made just one key pass throughout the 90 minutes - 8 players performed better than him in this area.

Muller's move inside was also key in nullifying Pirlo, the hardworking Bayern player did well in keeping the Italian out of the game, better than Kroos would likely have done infact. Through the 90 minutes Muller made 3 interceptions despite playing in attacking midfield as he stopped the passes reaching Pirlo.

Mario Mandzukic

One player who, for me, was amongst the most impressive was the Croat Mario Mandzukic, albeit the man signed from Wolsburg during the summer didn't add to his tally of 16 goals this season. His work in supporting his teammates definitely made up for his lack of a goal, as the forward made 3 key passes, with one of them resulting in a goal for Thomas Muller.

Mandzukic's received passes

In contrast to the partnership of Quagliarella and Matri, his presence gave Dante and Van Buyten the option of a long pass upfield, as Mandzukic has been brilliant in the role of the target man. He worked well in bringing both Robben and Ribery into play to form a 3 ahead of Muller, who occupied the attacking midfield slot.

However, the most impressive aspect of the frontman's game last night was his defensive work, he often lead the pressing against the back 3 (though supported very well by Ribery) which was a key factor in Bayern's victory. His 3 tackles and 7 fouls were very effective in disrupting The Old Lady's retention of ball possession, helping Bayern stay on the front foot for the majority of the match.

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