928 It's a Good Question!

"The most dangerous time for Bayern Munich is when they have full possession!"

In the premier conference room of the Grand Hyatt Berlin in Southampton, Bielsa explained to all the players in the 18-man squad the core of the Saints' thinking for the game.

In order to ensure the safety of the team, and to take care of the players' families and the members of the Saints Fan Club who came with the team, Southampton chartered the entire Grand Hyatt Hotel, so Bielsa did not need to have any scruples about speaking.

'Pep Guardiola's side are very good at creating threats when they are in control, so we have to break the opponent's control of the game from the first minute in the game.

Bielsa pointed to the LCD screen behind him, which was switching a PPT, showing Bayern Munich's starting lineup and the list of substitutes.

'We have received the news that Franck Ribery will be destined to miss this game, he has not played for a long time, he has not even been in the squad, but another wide player, Arjen Robben, I guess he should be there.

Bayern Munich's attack relied heavily on playing on both flanks, but this season, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben have both been injured and often sidelined, so Pep Guardiola's line-up has also been greatly affected.

"I have every reason to believe that Bayern Munich will still adopt the tactic of a back three, because this set of tactics has been practiced by Pep Guardiola many times, and it has achieved certain results in the semi-finals, which can make up for the loss caused by the absence of the two core players on the wing."

Behind Bielsa, Bayern Munich's starting XI was a three-five-two tactic.

The three defenders are Dante, Xavi Martinez and Jerome Boateng.

In terms of the five midfielders, Xavi Alonso lagged behind, lined up in front of four players, namely Bernart, Thiago, Lahm and Robben, and the two strikers were Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

At first glance, this set of formations looks like three-five-two, but in fact, there are many factors that can be changed.

For example, Bernat drops back into a back four, and if Lahm also moves into the game and drops back to the right wing, it's a back five.

Pep Guardiola's side are a headache because of the fact that his formation is completely innumerable, the positions of the players change too frequently, they are highly fluid, and they change anytime and anywhere.

The same is true for Southampton.

And it is completely predictable that Bayern Munich will certainly put a lot of defensive energy into the game to guard against the Saints' attacking lineup, especially the front three.

"So, in this game, we have to go up from the beginning, press up, and press Bayern Munich firmly in the half, pressing them down, but we don't need to fight for possession too much, you have to remember that if their backline wants to keep the ball, they can do whatever they want, but once they get into the midfield, ......"

Bielsa's slap was on the LCD screen behind him, covering exactly the area where the three midfielders of Xavi Alonso, Lahm and Thiago were shrunk.

The Argentine madman means that Bayern Munich should be allowed to control the ball at the back, but as soon as the ball enters the midfield, Southampton will immediately go crazy, completely destroy Bayern Munich's organization, and press their ball back again.

Let's ask, if the ball can't pass the midfield, how can it be a threat?

"In order to achieve the goal of limiting Bayern Munich's midfield, we need to shrink the formation appropriately, focus on the area from the middle line to the 30-meter area, and control the middle and ribs."

Speaking of which, Bielsa showed the next PPT, which is a matchup of the players of the two teams.

"Louis!" The Argentine looked at Suarez, "I need you to block all the passes to the middle of the midfield, and if Xavi Alonso retreats, you have to follow up immediately and keep an eye on him!" ”

Suarez nodded, this task was not new to him.

Moreover, with his ability, he can quickly cut into the gap between Xavi Alonso and the back line at the moment of switching from defense to attack, as long as he gets the ball here, Bayern Munich is in danger.

Because he believes that his two team-mates, Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez, will be the first to follow.

As long as the trio get the ball up front and play together, they will have the confidence to break down the Bayern Munich defence.

"Eden, Alexis, I need you to assist Luis, your main task is to block the pass to Lahm and Thiago while Luis in the middle is pressing Bayern Munich, forcing Bayern Munich to pass to the wing."

As long as they lock the middle of Bayern Munich's midfield and prevent the backline from passing the ball to the three players in the middle, then Bayern Munich will not be able to have more possession, because their line of action can only be on the side.

In this case, Southampton's defense will be much easier to organize.

Because of the two wings, not to mention that Ribery is not there now, even if the devil's wings come back, Ribery and Robben start, Southampton controls the middle of the front, Fabregas and Danilo, Di Maria and David Abala, are completely able to limit Bayern Munich's two wings.

As long as the ball is on the wing, it will be difficult for Bayern Munich's attack to threaten.

As for offense, it's even simpler.

The back three tactics have a natural flaw in defending on the wings.

In order to pursue midfield possession, Guardiola reuses players like Xavi Alonso and Lahm, as long as Southampton's front trident can be transferred to the gap to receive the pass at the first time, and Cesc Fabregas and Di Maria are inserted after the first time, then Southampton's attack can be live.

One-on-one, no one can hold Southampton's front trident.

What's more, in the midfield, with Fabregas on the pass, Di Maria on the ball, and Toni Kroos who is organised and controlled the tempo, Southampton's midfield is also unguardable once it is running.

This is also why some people commented that the Saints' midfield was comparable to Barcelona at its peak.

Di Maria's role is similar to Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas is similar to Xavi and Toni Kroos is similar to Sergio Busquets.

Although the technical characteristics and styles of specific players are different, which leads to different characteristics of the two midfield combinations, in general, the specific functions are the same thing.

Therefore, as long as they can grab the ball and block Bayern Munich's attack, the Saints' attack is not a problem.

A very important reason why Southampton has such confidence is that the front trident is willing to invest in pressing and defending.

Just imagine, if Southampton's trident is also like Real Madrid's front trident, playing the big ball, defending when you are in a good mood, and standing and watching the play when you are in a bad mood, Bielsa will put such an important first line of defense in their hands?

Of course, Bayern Munich is not completely without the ability to fight back.

Let's not talk about whether Bielsa's tactics can be successful or not, even if they do, Bayern Munich has a choice.

For example, Pep Guardiola could give up his possession and focus on limiting Southampton's attack.

But in this case, whether Bayern Munich can still create a threat in the attacking end will depend on luck.

There is also a situation where Southampton's frontcourt pressing and blocking are not effective and cannot be effective, resulting in Bayern Munich being able to control and pass the ball more effectively, once Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Robben and others are given the opportunity to directly attack the backline, then Southampton's goal is also worrying.

Football tactics are like that, every choice is both an opportunity and a risk.

As head coach, Bielsa can only choose the tactics that are most likely to play to the strengths of the team and most likely to beat the opponent.

As for whether it can work, it will be up to Bayern Munich to respond.

…………

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While Bielsa was laying out the team's tactics for tomorrow's final at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, major German TV stations were also warming up for the upcoming Champions League final.

One of the most-watched German television stations even produced a special program that invited many football celebrities to discuss tomorrow's game and study whether Bayern Munich could beat the Saints.

"The strongest thing about the saints is their attack!"

The former superstar of German football and the legend of Bayern Munich, Michael Ballack commented on the show.

"I've never seen a team that has the same attacking style as Southampton, where they have the opportunity to gather the best superstar, Suya? Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez, Angel Di Maria and Toni Kroos, they are absolute superstars and their quality is unquestionable. ”

"Bayern Munich, on the other hand, we have superstars, Ribery, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, but we have to admit that we are slightly inferior in comparison."

"Not only that, but Southampton gives me the feeling that they are very strict in their tactics, they rarely lose their tactical discipline, every player is playing for the team as a team, and they are playing at the highest level because of teamwork, which is very, very rare in European football at the moment, the last time I saw Pep Guardiola's Barcelona!"

After listening to this, the host smiled slightly and asked: "Michael, then you mean that Bayern Munich doesn't have much chance of winning?" ”

"The odds are there!" Barak replied, "The strongest place is often the weakest, and the Saints' offense is indeed quite sharp, but can their defense be as good as their offense?" ”

"In a crucial final like this, will Bielsa be able to get their superstar players to put enough energy into defending? You know, attacking players are naturally resistant to defending, and Southampton's players will also have slackness and times when they are unwilling to defend, so that's their weakness. ”

The host nodded, "Thank you Michael, then who do you think is the player who needs the most attention in this game of Bayern Munich?" ”

"Suarez!" Barak replied without hesitation.

"Why?"

"It's a lucky thing for any team to have a player like Suarez, his aggressive movement, his outstanding individual skills, his ability to cause chaos against the opposition, and I personally think his biggest threat is the trouble of dropping back to find the midfielders, and taking the ball in the threatening area, one person against three players, which is quite scary!"

"What about Hazard and Sanchez?"

'They're also terrible and Southampton's greatest fortune is that they have three top stars with great individual quality at the same time, which makes them look comfortable against any defence.

"It's a nightmare for all opponents!" Barak finally added.

Anyone can hear that Bayern Munich celebrities believe that in this final, Bayern Munich is at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

Pep Guardiola's side will have to do a good job of limiting their attacking players if they want to beat their opponents.

But the question is, with Pep Guardiola's character, is he willing to put down his body to defend?

That's a good question!