News Analysis India

Tag: Bayern Munich

  • Who did Lionel Messi vote for at the FIFA The Best Awards

    Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was crowned the Best Men’s Player for 2020 at the FIFA awards on Thursday, finishing ahead of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after a stellar season.

    It’s no surprise to see Lewandowski scoop the prize after a phenomenal season where he won the treble and scored an incredible 55 goals in 47 games for the Bavarian giants.

    Messi did vote for Lewandowski but only had the striker down in third place. The Barcelona captain voted former team-mate Neymar as his No. 1 choice with Kylian Mbappe his second favorite ahead of Lewandowski.

    Lewandowski voted for Thiago, Neymar and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, while Ronaldo went for Lewandowski, Messi and Mbappe.

    Messi was named in the FIFPro World XI, for the 14th year in a row, taking his place in a team containing Lewandowski, Ronaldo, Thiago and Sergio Ramos among others

  • Bayern Munich’s Hansi Flick reveals his master plan vs Wolfsburg

    Hansi Flick was rather direct in explaining his game plan in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 win over Wolfsburg.

    Surprising everyone with a lineup that featured three wingers, four center-backs, no right-backs, and no true defensive midfielders, Flick spoke candidly to the media after the game about his strategy and what the thought process was behind his unorthodox plan:

    A formation previously unheard of at Bayern, this particular approach involved a lot of bold moves — putting Niklas Sule as a right back/center back hybrid, Thomas Muller as a box-to-box midfielder, and almost playing Leroy Sane as a right-back. The scary thing? Almost all of those choices were spot on.

    Sule proved himself to be more than capable of being a right back with his sheer size and pace. Muller gave his teammates some slick passes while also chipping in with defensive work as well, recording the second most tackles (3) in the team. Yes, Sane was pretty horrible, but they can’t all be golazos, right?

    This approach isn’t too unlike how Julian Nagelsmann took apart Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League. Nagelsmann utilized a hybrid of a 3-1-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1, positioning his wing-backs/full-backs asymmetrically to counter Atletico’s strengths on the flanks, while also maintaining defensive stability. In Bayern’s case, they switched between a 4-1-4-1/4-2-3-1 and a 3-4-3, depending on how they were attacking and defending.

  • What does each team need to qualify for last 16?

    While the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Barcelona, LIverpool and Juventus have already confirmed their spots in the round of 16 of the 2020-21 Champions League, a handful will not learn their fate until the final matchday.

    Goal has rounded up what results each team needs to safely progress into the highly-anticipated knockout stages of the flagship European club competition.

    Group B will go right down to the wire. Borussia Monchengladbach must defeat or draw with Real Madrid on the final day to progress to the knockout phases, though they have already been assured a place in the Europa League.

    If they lose to Real Madrid, they can only qualify for the round of 16 only if Inter draw with Shakhtar.

    Shakhtar will progress to the knockouts if they win against Inter on the final matchday, while a draw will also be enough – but only if Real Madrid fail to beat Gladbach. A defeat will not see them through.

    Real Madrid need only a home victory to qualify to the knockouts, while a draw will suffice should Inter defeat Shakhtar. If they lose, they will drop to the Europa League if Inter don’t beat Shakhtar.

    Inter need to win against Shakhtar and rely on a win or loss between Borussia Monchengladbach and Real Madrid. A draw between the two would not be enough due to the head-to-head.