Champions League Performance Insights: How Bayern looked to beat the low block
Friday, April 11, 2025
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UEFA Technical Observers Sir Gareth Southgate and Steve Cooper assess how Bayern looked to their wingers and full-backs to penetrate Inter's compact defence – and draw lessons for coaches.
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When Bayern visit Inter for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final next Wednesday, the challenge will likely be much the same as in this week's first leg – to break down the Italian side's low block.
Inter's excellent defending in a low block has captured the attention of the UEFA Technical Observer Group more than once already this season. It was to Bayern's credit then that despite losing 2-1 in Munich on Tuesday, they did better than any team before them when it came to creating gaps.
The German Bundesliga leaders had 20 shots – seven on target – and recorded the highest xG (Expected Goals) of any side that has faced Inter in this Champions League campaign with 2.68. Only Manchester City (2.39) and Arsenal (2.09) had previously got anywhere near that total. As coach Vincent Kompany said, there was "a lot of good work and a lot of chances that normally we would bury".
How the wingers and full-backs combined
For UEFA's performance analysis unit, the starting point is the above illustration of two key facets of Bayern's attacking framework: the relationship between the wingers out wide and full-backs inside them within the final third; and Bayern's balance behind the ball which came from the two centre-backs and two pivots sitting deep.
It is the partnership between the wingers and full-backs that we will focus on here and this first video offers two clips by way of example.
Clip one starts by exhibiting Bayern's patience as they move the ball while waiting for the right moment to attack. As UEFA Technical Observer Sir Gareth Southgate said: "It often requires a couple of switches of play in order to drag a low block across the pitch and then quick exploitation of any overload or one v one situations."
Bayern wingers Leroy Sané (10) and Michael Olise (17) are seen providing width. For their part, the full-backs come inside and combine with the winger or alternately – as we see from both Josip Stanišic (44) and Konrad Laimer (27) – they run behind to open up space for their winger to explore inside.
Overall, on Tuesday, both Bayern full-backs made 12 runs in behind in the final third. And as Southgate explained, Inter's shape was a factor in them finding space. "One of the weaknesses in defending 5-3-2 is the space to the side of the midfield three as they have to slide across to cover in front of the back five," he said. "Bayern regularly used their full-backs to occupy this space."
Clip two features the winger/full-back connection once more, showing the pairs combine on each side, and it ends with Laimer receiving inside before feeding Olise for a shot.
Why the wingers came inside
This second graphic is an illustration of how Olise and Sané looked to come inside with the ball rather than go down the line. This tendency is also reflected by the graphic below, which maps out Bayern's passes and crosses from within the final third. Overall, 57% of their attempts to play the ball into the box came from central channels.
Southgate elaborated: "Bayern's wingers typically tried to cut inside with the ball, play into feet and follow their pass to receive a set or return pass. Olise and Sané are able to shoot or play clever passes when coming inside."
Bayern, as the graphics above indicate, did not cross the ball from out on the touchline. When they did put balls into the box, it was from narrow positions close to the penalty area and this is the subject of the second video below.
Exploiting the back-post area
For Southgate it was apparent that they sought to explore the back-post area with their crosses, the former England manager noting: "Bayern attempted crosses from narrower positions – box crosses – or little diagonals – particularly from balls set back – looking to exploit the far centre-backs of Inter and their goal came from a move like this."
In total, Bayern delivered 13 open-play crosses in all and, crucially, only once did they have less than four players in the box. To be precise, they had an average of 5.15 players attacking the box at crosses and in the first clip, we see both full-backs among that number.
As for the second clip, which features Thomas Müller's goal, when Joshua Kimmich crosses, there are six home players in the area. As a coaching point, it is important to remind players that those furthest from ball are as important as those around it when looking to enable a scoring opportunity from crosses.
Tips for the training ground
What are the keys to breaking down a low block, and how can you train young players for such scenarios? Here, UEFA Technical Observer Steve Cooper offers some guidance.
"There are three main ways to break the block: the 1v1, combination play such as one-twos and wall passes, and passes and runs in behind. Can you get them out of space by committing a defender with a 1v1, for example, or by playing a one-two?
"Another option is to change the point of attack but do it quickly. If the opposition are on one side and the ball gets set back and you switch quickly, you might have more room to play against fewer defenders.
"It helps, of course, if your players have the ability to produce more than one of those options as then you are less predictable and can put doubt in a defender's mind. If they're left thinking 'It could be a 1v1 or a combination or a pass into somebody overlapping or underlapping', that unpredictability helps.
"Another factor is decision-making. At the top level, a small space can appear quickly and you have to take it, and decision-making on how and when to attack is what sets the really top attackers apart.
"When working on this with young players, one option would be to do simple 1v1, 2v1 and 2v2 drills. You can set them up in areas of pitch that might be in a game, so for example, you move the ball into an area where a right winger and right full-back are playing against a left-back and left midfielder and it's a 2v2 and you ask: can you get over a certain line before the practice continues?
"You could also do opposed practices which could be small-sided games against a low defence with low spaces where you work on tight-area attacking. As well as practising your attacking skills in small spaces against high numbers, it's important to practise switches of play and attacking in big spaces against smaller numbers.
"Also, it's important to put a time sequence with that. If you look at the clips above, the ball is not one side for long and once the ball is there, players must make a decision; are we attacking here or switching again? So when training you might say: 'You have four seconds to attack here' and this helps replicate the demands of the game."
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