News Analysis India

Tag: Midfielder

  • 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.

  • Neymar produces dazzling highlights during Champions League win

    The Red Devils’ progression will now depend on their trip to RB Leipzig in the final game of the Champions League group stages.

    Danilo subsequently deflected Marcus Rashford’s shot into his own net. Those strikes sandwiched the biggest flashpoint of the night, when Fred only received a yellow card for a headbutt on Leandro Paredes.  The midfielder was ultimately dismissed in the second half, though his tackle on Ander Herrera on that occasion looked clean. 

    Fred wasn’t the only United player to be involved in an altercation. Scott McTominay’s challenge on Neymar infuriated the PSG forward and they were seen having a heated exchange as the two teams headed off for half-time. 

    After the break, David de Gea kept United in proceedings on a number of occasions, including with a fingertip save to deny Mitchel Bakker.However, the stopper could only put the ball out for a corner and Marquinhos scored from the resulting set piece. 

    Kylian Mbappe raced through and almost put United to the sword in the final minute of regulation time. But the night belonged to Neymar and it was the 28-year-old who got the Parisians’ third. 

    The goal itself wasn’t spectacular, but he deserved huge credit for orchestrating the move with a superb bit of skill and a dribble into United’s half.