Bayern Munich’s XI on Wednesday’s 4-0 storming over Club Brugge featured an interesting — but not new — alignment at full-back. Left-footer Raphaël Guerreiro, a left-back by trade in his earlier days at Borussia
Dortmund, was deployed on the right, while Bayern’s normal right-back, Konrad Laimer, took a spot on the left.
Each player has been deployed to that flank before, particularly when injury situations warrant it. This time, as head coach Vincent Kompany revealed, it was more about matchups — and a system that allows for it.
“Konny and Rapha played many games on the opposite sides,” Kompany explained after the match in comments captured by @iMiaSanMia. “They come inside the pitch and act like midfielders. So the right foot, left foot situation is not as important as if they were always playing on the outside. I wanted Konrad Laimer to be against [Brugge right winger Carlos Forbs], with the speed 1-v-1. It doesn’t matter who plays on the left or right, it’s quite easy for them to adapt.”
We have definitely seen Guerreiro burned for pace down the flanks before — it is part of why the Portuguese international has shifted to more central positions as he has aged — so this was a wise adjustment from Kompany. Bayern’s use of inverting full-backs is also allowing for interesting profiles in recruitment of these positions.
Bayern Munich hosted Club Brugge in the Champions League and while the Belgian side was game, the Bavarians were just better. A lot better.
Bayern Munich continued it excellent run of play and scored a 4-0 victory over Club Brugge in yet another strong performance. Let’s dive into the details — this is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:
- A look at Bayern Munich’s starting XI selections…who stood out, who struggled, and more.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions as we walk through the flow of the match.
- Some final takeaways on the match and how things look moving forward.
