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A thread with small analysis about how Lewandowski, Müller, Kimmich, Thiago play now compared to other years and how Alphonso Davies helps the Bayern squad with his quality.
Lewandowski is yet again enjoying another prolific season, hitting 51 goals in total this season. How he plays now is a completely different thing compared to other seasons under different coaches. And that is very important to note.
If in the past, Lewandowski was the lone striker waiting for balls, crosses and chances to convert, he has a completely different role now. Lewy has a great physique, and Flick uses this advantage for Lewy's and team's benefifs because, our approach...
... really gives importance to off the ball workrate, and Flick uses Lewy to drop back, shift opp. defenders out of position, win and collect the ball and participate in the team's build-up. Compared to other seasons, Lewy has doubled his number of tackles attempted
And despite the fact that Lewandowski has a different role now, he still can't help but even outscore himself in the seasons where he was used only as a pure 9. His heatmap of this season also speaks for itself. He has covered more distancee than any other time he did before.
If in the past, Müller created space & chances for Lewandowski to score, this time Müller & Lewy interchange their roles a lot of times. Müller goes as a forward, Lewy moves wide to create space not only for each other, but also for other attackers, such as Gnabry
Thomas Müller's role has also changed, he isn't anymore just an assist provider or space creator, but also the one who acts like an extra man in attack. Only Pep, van Gaal, Heynckes and Flick were able to use him effectively.
In 2015-16 season, Müller was mostly used behind Lewy & his main task was to provide final balls and combine with each other. This season Müller acts similar to how Thiago used to be playing under Pep. Their main task is to control the ball in final 3rd & link up defense + attack
But how they do it, it mainly depends on the player himself. Thiago looked to do more passes outwide for the players to deliver crosses, while Müller tries to run off the ball, create an extra body in attack and holds the ball for his teammates to come into play.
Compared to other times, Thiago's role at Bayern has changed to a complete b2b role who tries to win the ball in the middle and recycles it. He is also a key player to the squad because he doesn't need physique to get out of pressure. He simply uses his skills effectively.
Thiago has the task of controlling the ball in the middle, win the ball and organize the team from the middle. This season Thiago has more freedom to operate than when he plays in the final third. And this has made him more dangerous than before.
Kimmich has been tasked the role of Xabi Alonso had at Bayern. They both dropped deep in both CBs to create a 3 backline in the build-up. However, the player type and how they operate also differ in this regard.
Xabi could stay more behind & sometimes shoot from distance. While Kimmich drifts a lot of times forward. The passing range also differs, because Xabi always tried to play long while Kimmich likes to play low and sometimes plays the ball on the flanks.
In the other hand, Xabi had Vidal as a defensive partner while Kimmich is very good defensively and also wins and intercepts a lot of balls in the middle. Like it's said depends also on the player type, but also, the age of both players in comparison.
Alphonso Davies' main asset is his pace, he has a very high amount of tackles, ball recoveries and duels won because he has a great physique, balance and stamina. Whenever he is out of position, he either tries to win the ball himself by speeding up, or interchanges with Alaba
However, he can also use his pace to make explosive runs outwide. His player type suits this system and philosophy a lot, because he is a flashy fullback with a great balance and strength who works brilliant on and off the ball. His role is mainly to provide more width...
... and apply counterpress on his opponents when they win the ball. Davies has the best tackling percentage at Bayern and one of the best duelists at the club. Although he gets caught a lot of times out of position because of staying high up, it's his pace that makes up for it.
End of thread. Likes and retweets appreciated.
