Julius Caesar’s parents were clearly very ahead of the curve — after all, they named him after one of the most popular salads worldwide. But the dictator/general is not known for his association with lettuce and croutons — he is known for delivering expositional statements. On defeating Pharnaces II of Pontus in perhaps the briefest battle of his lifetime, he explained the victory in three words — ‘veni, vidi, vici’. I came, I saw, I conquered.
Bayern Munich in Bergamo tonight did the very same. Here
are the observations from the 6-1 win against Atalanta.
Veni
The scene was set. Bayern had arrived in Bergamo.
Bayern Munich were going to start without Harry Kane up front in a round of 16 fixture away. A precautionary measure that raised a lot of eyebrows, for most saw Atalanta’s win against Dortmund and knew that this was a special team. Vincent Kompany fielded a lineup with Nicolas Jackson up front, Serge Gnabry centrally and Michael Olise and Luis Díaz on the flanks. The textbook combination at midfield in most big games has been that of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović. At the backline, Kompany stuck to his recent change of placing Konrad Laimer at left-back and Josip Stanisic at right-back. Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah were set centrally and Jonas Urbig started beneath the posts since Neuer was not set to play.
By all standards, this is a sufficient squad. There was enough firepower up front even if Nicolas Jackson was not the best of strikers. Pavlović is a reliable, if not phenomenal midfielder and Stanišić‘s newfound love for goalscoring has not gone unnoticed. The Croatian has recently fallen for the prospect of landing on the scoresheet and hence has taken great measures to invert as much as humanly possible. Upamecano has the pace to cover for Tah’s minimal deficits in the same way.
Atalanta on the other hand, were depleted. Crucial players such as Charles De Ketelaere were injured and their last two games were not great — a 2-1 loss at Sassuolo and a 2-2 draw against Lazio in the Coppa Italia.
Vidi
I would argue that the reason Bayern won was the first ten minutes of the game. Atalanta’s game plan was clearly visible from the start. Bayern saw this and learnt from it.
Raffaele Palladino’s Atalanta are aggressive, direct and fast. They relied on relentless man-marking and pushing extremely high up the pitch. Every player in blue tags onto a player in red, thus staying in constant pursuit of the ball. This is precisely why the first ten minutes were terrifying — from the outset it simply looks like the home side is bulldozing Bayern and threatening them into giving up possession and using rapid turnovers from that point on.
Essentially, the point of this man-marking is to force possession and work their way up the thirds faster than Bayern can react. High risk, high reward, right?
Not really.
This is where ‘vidi’ becomes key.
When your opposition is entirely focused on tailing your players and imitating your shape, that leaves their formation with massive gaps. Gaps that can be easily utilized if your players have technicality and speed. Massive empty spaces that Atalanta were forced to leave because of their tactics, were easily utilized. It also became evident that Atalanta were grossly wasteful with their chances.
Vici
Goal #1; Stanisic. The corner was taken, Gnabry notices a completely open Stanišić, unmarked and right in front of goal and he makes the pass. Stanišić taps it in effortlessly and the goal is scored.
Goal #2; Olise. Another testament to the man-marking deficits. Upamecano from the backline progressed with the ball, thus inviting a player to move out of position and mark him. Now, into this empty space, he progresses the ball and makes a sharp vertical pass, breaking lines. The ball straight at Olise’s feet now meant only one thing. A bald Dutchman had done the same a billion times before and yet everyone stood and stared.
Goal #3; Gnabry. This goal is a personal favourite. Urbig lobs a long ball from behind. Olise takes up this ball in an extraordinary first touch, makes a short run and makes the final pass to a totally open Gnabry and he dutifully finishes.
Goal #4; Jackson. Alphonso Davies, on his arrival in second half was keen to make an impact. He made a terrific run from behind, then passed to Díaz. The Colombian had patiently made many a pass to Jackson in the first half but the striker was extremely wasteful. In an act of redemption, he made this attempt count and finally got a goal in.
Goal #5; Olise. Same as goal #2. It’s the same cut and shoot. Yet it is almost as if no player sees it coming.
Goal #6; Musiala. Jackson finally registers an assist as Jamal Musiala scores to make it 6-0.
There are a few tactical conclusions to make because this game is indicative of a system that is clearly made to win.
One must first address the art of marking. The days of a defender marking a singular player are long gone, for Bayern have operated a hybrid of man marking and zonal marking that has yielded exceptional results. All the credit for this, goes to Kompany.
Secondly, in this system, Bayern too operates on vertical passing just like Atalanta. In fact, Bayern operates on a kind of ‘total football’ wherein no player really stays in position for too long. But they did not fall apart and this, is precisely where Pavlović comes in. It is his positional discipline and pace that keep the team from falling into their own chaos. Even in the absence of Harry Kane, the youngster managed to control the entire game all by himself.
Thirdly, the attack is no longer flank-dependent. It is no longer just the overlap of Olise and Laimer, it is long vertical passes from Upamecano and Urbig. Stanišić too, as mentioned earlier is scoring. Goals can now come from anywhere and that makes this team absolutely lethal.
They came, they saw, they conquered.
Alea iacta est
Back in 49 BC, Caesar was keen on conquering Italy, despite the Senate instructing him not to do so, for it would trigger a civil war. However, defying the orders, Caesar crossed the Rubicon river and declared ‘alea iacta est’ — the die is cast. Sources claim that he said it in Greek, but the Latin phrase is arguably more popular. In his scenario, the cast of the die referred to the act of making a serious and irreversible decision. However, it has also been interpreted as the act of reaching a point of no return.
And there is no returning from a 6-1 result for Atalanta.
Bayern may not have conquered the whole of Italy, but the die has been cast and despite missing crucial players in the second leg, the Rekordmeister will dominate and that is for sure.
(Side note: the shape and formation of Bayern fell apart in the second half but frankly at that point, they only needed to pass the remaining time.)
Et tu, brute?
The medical team perhaps betrayed Bayern like no one else today. Davies finds himself back in the infirmary mere weeks after his return. Et tu, brute?
Miscellaneous Observations
- Jackson’s problems are concerning. It is clear the striker has no clear identity in the team. His heatmap glows in odd spots. It is not just that he can’t score, it is also that he seems to have no definitive role in the team, or an “on-pitch identity”.
- Olise and Kimmich have both seen themselves out for the next game. Time for stepover king Lennart Karl to shine.
- The goal that Bayern conceded had both Upamecano and Tah as the last men. This can be forgiven because we were 6-0 up. But it is not something one can forgive with a tighter margin.
- No more Julius Caesar references.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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