In the Zone: Dayot Upamecano's defensive masterclass for Bayern

Anybody wondering what it takes to be a top-class defender in football today would do well to sift through the showreel of Dayot Upamecano's display at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

Selected as Player of the Match, the French centre-back excelled both in and out of possession for Bayern München in their Champions League knockout phase play-off first-leg success. As UEFA observer Michael O'Neill said: "He was strong defensively, won all his duels, was great in possession and a strong leader."

In this analysis brought to you by FedEx, we see Upamecano exhibit his impressive all-round game, starting with the first clip which highlights his 1v1 defending. Bayern are in a high block, going man for man, and Upamecano – on the halfway line – has the task of marshalling centre-forward Adam Idah with his back to goal. He does this well, showing strength and power as he thwarts Idah's attempt to turn him and then gains a yard on the striker as he comes away with the ball.

O'Neill, who was observing from the stands, explained: "Bayern were able to press so high because he plays so high, and he was able to deal with Idah – whether it was running in behind or whether it was physically on the halfway line – and his use of the ball was brilliant."

That last point is illustrated as the sequence concludes when, under pressure, Upamecano plays a smart pass infield to Joshua Kimmich. "This clip is a good example," added O’Neill, "as first he defends space and then he is counterpressed by Celtic and instead of taking the easy option, he finds the slightly more difficult pass to Kimmich which turns the attack back into Bayern's favour."

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For O'Neill, there is a broader point to make here about the demands today on an elite centre-back.

"What everyone is looking for is that athleticism, the ability to be able to defend in in a two and be able to defend the width of the pitch at times with just two centre-backs," he said. "It's that ability to be able to defend big spaces when you're man for man, which Upamecano is excellent at. That means the distance your team has to press is smaller as your centre-backs are able to be brave and play on the halfway line and not have that fear of what's going on behind.

"It also depends on what sort of team you are. Vincent Kompany's team are heavily based on possession so the centre-back's ability on the ball is going to be huge for that coach in particular and Upamecano has a real calmness about him when in possession."

Before we focus on Upamecano's use of the ball, clip two shows another facet of his defending as he deals impressively with a cross into the five-metre box. He gets into the right position centrally and adjusts his body well to make a good connection with his clearance. "He was strong in tackles, strong in duels, strong in defensive headers," added O’Neill.

With the third clip, finally, we see his ability to pick a pass in the form of his assist for Michael Olise's opening goal – a lovely, angled ball which drops just over the shoulder of Celtic full-back Greg Taylor.

"It is a great pass because it creates the one-on-one situation for Olise to go on the inside on his stronger left side," observed O'Neill. "A big part of Celtic's game plan was to try to double up on the wide players and when you have a pass like that, it's very difficult to double up in that situation."

This was a night when Upamecano made 89 successful passes out of 94 and as O'Neill concluded, it was the variety of his passing which was telling. "For a centre-back it's that ability to not always play short and recognise when it's on to play that longer pass, whether it's a pass in behind or a pass diagonally and he got that right consistently."