Match date: 23 November 2013

Some interesting comments from Guardiola in his pre-match conference, saying, “The team are a little better than before, but it’s still not my team,” the ex-Spain international said at a press conference. “I need more time. We have had very good results, but my game style is completely different. In Germany, there’s a counterattacking culture that’s not part of my game.” He went on to acknowledge that Dortmund are the best counter attacking team in the world, which could be one of the reasons he opted to start Philipp Lahm in the holding midfield role, with the German international very good in transition.

Jurgen Klopp and Dortmund were without their normal back four and there were some suggestions building up to the match that Bender or Kehl might step in at centre back, but Klopp opted for Friedrich.

Dortmund’s Back Four

It’s really unfortunate for such an occasion, but of Dortmund’s back four, none are really Jurgen Klopp’s first choice selections and it was certainly a factor in the match. On both sides of the ball, the lack of Mats Hummels and Nevan Subotic, in particular, were very noticeable.

Typically, Dortmund like to play with a high line in ordered to help the players in front of the back four by squeezing the space in midfield and making their ‘gegenpressing’ much more effective. With Sokratis and Friedrich in rather than Hummels and Subotic, Dortmund were forced to play a bit deeper, making the midfielders responsible for covering more space and making them a little less effective in winning the ball back quickly as a result. Below you can see where Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender, Dortmund’s two holding midfielders, attempt their tackles; much deeper than they would like to be.

Their defending in a low block looked very questionable at times. Neither centre back was unsuccessful in a tackle, Sokratis was 7/7 and Friedrich was 1/1, but majority of these were in wider areas of the pitch than centre backs enjoy being when they are defending close to their own goal.

The whole defense seemed unorganized though, shown by Bayern’s first and third goals, which were both from the ball being played from the right side of Bayern’s attack to a player relatively unmarked in just about the same area of Dortmund’s penalty area. On the first goal, in particular, Sahin and Bender were both drawn out as Bayern recycled the ball back to Lahm and were then forced to recover as Lahm found Muller on the right side with a very good ball. Below you can see Götze just having received the ball and both Sahin (the closest player to Götze) and Bender (to the right of Sahin) entering the penalty area late and unable to cut out the cross.

So without Hummels and Subotic, Dortmund weren’t able to really press Bayern as well as they wanted to because they couldn’t play as high of line as they are accustomed to and they also looked disorganized at the the back when defending in a low block. Hummels and Subotic are also important in how Dortmund play when they are in possession of the ball. Hummels, in particular, is an excellent passer of the ball and has the ability to start Dortmund attacks from the back. With his absence, though Sokratis likes to get forward as well, Dortmund were missing a reliable passing partnership at the back. Sokratis had some expansive passing to the wide areas, but in general the two seemed to lack the composure that Hummels and Subotic have on the ball, with some credit due to Bayern’s pressing.

Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm in Midfield

Pep Guardiola’s use of Philipp Lahm in a holding midfield role has been quite brilliant so far. Lahm has really showed a good amount of quality in winning the ball and using it well. His intelligence and work rate have really helped Bayern during defensive transitions, which is where they can be a bit weak with the style that Guardiola is trying to make them play. For large periods of the first half, especially, Lahm would drop in between Boateng and Dante and stay there often for long periods compared to the trend of the holding midfielder dropping between centre backs that has been used over Europe having been so effective at Barcelona under Guardiola.

Toni Kroos has been fantastic all season as well, playing deeper than he did under Jupp Heynckes, in a Xavi-esque role, he has the ability to break the lines with both his passing and his dribbling. Against Dortmund, he moved the ball around very well, especially once Götze was introduced. Götze’s deeper movement allowed Kroos more time as Bayern outnumbered the Dortmund midfield and allowed him a better passing option.

Götze v Mandzukic

As mentioned above, Götze’s introduction really turned the match into Bayern’s favour. During Mandzukic’s time on the pitch, Bayern tried to play a little bit too direct as they looked to exploit the space between the deep Dortmund back four and the Dortmund midfield quickly, but the quality from the passes and Mandzukic was lacking at times and Bayern found it hard to create opportunities. Below you can see Bayern’s passes in the attacking third with Mandzukic on and with Götze on. With Götze on, the play is much more intricate, more Guardiola like.

Götze was all over the pitch as a played as a “false 9,” which many touted him to do when it was found out that he’d be working with Guardiola at Bayern, whereas Mandzukic stayed close to the Dortmund centre backs. Götze’s ability to play within the Dortmund lines was incredibly important for Bayern and it was pivotal in getting his goal.

Pep’s Changes Win It

Götze’s introduction was incredibly important, yes, but Thiago’s introduction minutes before the opening goal was just as important. Prior to the Götze and Thiago substitutions, Bayern were forcing play on the outside of Dortmund’s defense rather than trying to play through the middle, but with the introduction of the aforementioned players, Bayern were able to play through the middle of the field much quicker as they were overloading the centre of the field, but now had three players in Kroos, Thiago, and Götze that cannot only play between the lines, but can also break the lines with their passing and dribbling, which Martinez and Mandzukic could not offer.

As Bayern began playing through the middle more, they were able to play quicker combinations and draw Dortmund’s low block defending a bit more narrow, which allowed the space in the wide areas to open up for Muller and Robben. The first goal came from when the ball was being played on the right side of the field, but then recycled to Lahm in the centre of the field, causing the Dortmund players to come inside. Muller stayed in a wide position on the right and Lahm was able to find him in a significant amount of space, which allowed him to get a good ball into Götze.

The second goal came after both Klopp and Guardiola made more changes to their side. Klopp brought on Jonas Hofmann and Aubameyang for Mkhitaryan and Blaszczykowski, with Aubameyang playing on the right side of Dortmund’s attack initially, but then moving to the left side. This made Guardiola bring on Van Buyten, moving Lahm to right back and Martinez (who was playing at centre back at this point with Thiago coming on for Boateng) to the holding midfield role.

So after Guardiola nullified Klopp’s move, with all the space in the wide areas that had opened up due to Bayern playing more in the middle, Thiago found Robben with a terrific ball allowing Bayern to counter.

Lahm, now at right back, got the assist for Muller’s goal, who had got between the Dortmund midfield and backs too easily and was allowed to much space to easily slot home from about the penalty spot.

Conclusion

Götze’s return to Dortmund was one of those scripted moments in football. His goal sent Bayern on their way to a good win over Dortmund, who are now in third place behind Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen.

Klopp called for the supporters to get behind the club and will certainly be annoyed that his side weren’t able to take advantage of some of the chances that they had to score.