Thoughts from last nights game. I mentioned to one of our members way before the game, expect the unexpected from Pep & Pep lived upto the phrase. Benatia made his Bayern debut, part of a back 3 along with Boa & Alaba. We started the game 3-4-3 & half way through the first half Pep changed it around to 2-3-2-3 ( BOA,BENATIA - RAFINHA,ALONSO,BERNAT - LAHM,ALABA - MULLER,LEWA,GOETZE). I cant think of many coaches for that matter any coach who would change the system within the first 20 minutes. but thats pep for you. We could have scored as early as the 1st minutes but Muller fluffed his lines. There after we dominated proceedings & created scoring opportunities at regular interval but with no end result. I guess, the start & domination prompted Pep to push Alaba further up in the MF. One other reason I can think of this move could be to curb Yaya Toure who looked in ominous form & every time he got the ball Bayern players just couldnt get anywhere near him. Thankfully Yaya didnt see the ball as often as he would have liked to. Neur was having a comfortable game & was rarely tested. Cant say the same of his counter part Hart, who was quite superb & kept city in the game time and again. The second half started like the first half with Bayern creating all the chances & Hart keeping us at bay. Towards the final quarter of the game it seemed city would be happy to take away a point & there in lies the difference. Pep kept pushing the players front all the time & at the stroke of full time it finally paid dividend when Boa struck the ball ever so sweetly for his first CL goal. It was well deserved 3 points to Bayern & the group was thrown wide open when Roma romped home, thrashing CSK 5-1. Some of the other interesting results & upset from match day 1 : Tricky Olympiacos got the better of last years finalists Athletico 3-2 at home, Zenith stunned Benfica 2-0 away, Chelsea surprisingly were held to a 1-1 draw by Schalke (I was expecting a tennis scoreline here) and Ajax managed to hold PSG to 1-1 draw at home. Match day 2 resumes on 30th Sept, when Bayern will travel to Moscow for an early evening start. Player ratings from Bayern-City game : NEUR - 8 (Was in control & except for a moment of hesitation with Dante in the dying moments, he was never really tested) BENATIA - 8 (Made his debut for us & put up a robust performance in a tough home game. fitted in like a glove) BOATENG - 9 (Played the central defender/sweeper in a 3 men defence & when the system changed, still kept looking to attack & was rewarded.) ALABA - 8 (Showed his versatility as a defender & then as a MF defending & attacking in equal gusto. had one brilliant strike saved by Hart & also managed to keep Yaya in check) RAFINHA - 5 (The weakest link in Bayern team. Gave away the ball & miss passed the ball repeatedly. Thankfully was well covered by Lahm & Benatia) ALONSO - 8 (Showed his experience with the range of passing & robust tackling. In short controlled the Bayern MF. Covered up in defence every time Boa made an attacking run) BERNAT - 7 (Still has a long way to go & become the finished product but played spiritedly. Not easy when you come up against the quality of Navas. But was well covered by Alaba & Boa) LAHM - 8 (OMNI PRESENT) MULLER - 8 (Could have been on the scored in the first minute. Kept finding space & troubled the City back four through out the game.) LEWA -7.5 (still hasnt found his mojo but kept trying very hard. Got into great scoring position without any end result. Still struggling to come to grips with Peps complex tactics. But it is matter of time) GOETZE - 8 (Played manfully inspite of struggling with the phsicality of Fernandinho & Yaya toure. The extra point is for the cushioned assist to Boas eventual winner) ROBBEN - came and hassled the city players with his speed, dribbling & theatrics. DANTE - Came on & gave ulcers to Neur & all the Bayern fans ;)
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 08:55:52 +0000
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