Müller’s goal is not enough – Inter break down FC Bayern’s man-to-man defense and win in Munich | OneFootball

Thomas Müller’s goal was not enough. FC Bayern lose 2-1 at home to Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Bayern’s man-to-man defense was no match for the Italians’ positional play.

In the duel with the former club of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Lothar Matthäus, FC Bayern faced the still-active former Munich players Benjamin Pavard and Yann Sommer, who form one of the best defenses in Europe at Inter.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany chose Raphaël Guerreiro as the backup number ten for the injured Jamal Musiala. Guerreiro had already taken on the role against Heidenheim and Bochum. He had provided an assist against Heidenheim and scored twice against Bochum.

Leon Goretzka also replaced João Palhinha in the starting lineup. Otherwise, Kompany trusted Augsburg’s starting lineup.

As expected, Simone Inzaghi fielded Inter Milan in a 3-5-2 formation. Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez ran forward in front of the strong central midfield of Nicolò Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

FC Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan: The Match

Inter Leads at Halftime

Inter defended zonally, focusing on the stability and spacing of their back lines. FC Bayern were unfazed by their defense and created several good, but none very clear, chances in the first 20 minutes. Kane’s header from Olise’s cross was difficult to clear from behind, Guerreiro had the ball at a tight angle on his weak right foot, and Olise slowly approached Sommer’s goal.

In times of expected goals, “100% chances” are gradually disappearing from the vocabulary. Not so in the 26th minute. Pavard wasted the ball, Olise was clever and found Harry Kane completely unmarked. But the Bayern striker only hit the right post from the left half. He had to score.

At the other end, Inter regularly managed to keep the ball and expand the pitch. This successfully evaded Bayern’s pressing. As soon as Inter beat a Bayern player, things became dangerous.

In the 31st and 33rd minutes, Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martínez missed, but in the 38th, Martínez finally scored to make it 1-0 for Inter. Thuram and Martínez secured the ball, and then Inter broke through on the left through Bastoni and Augusto. Martínez finished brilliantly after a Thuram lay-off.

Second Half: History that football…

The second half played out exactly as the inventors of the Catenaccio had dreamed. While Inter had 51% possession in the first half, they now increasingly retreated, leaving the ball to FC Bayern. Despite having over 70% possession at times, FC Bayern rarely threatened. Inter retreated to their own penalty area and managed to prevent clear chances for FC Bayern.

In the 75th minute, Kompany made three changes: Thomas Müller, Serge Gnabry, and Sacha Boey came on for Guerreiro, Sané, and the yellow-carded Kim. The arena grew loud, hoping for Müller’s magic.

And they weren’t disappointed. After Kimmich’s cross, Laimer brought the ball back in front of the goal, where Müller volleyed it home. The score was 1-1 after 85 minutes.

The good mood was short-lived. Three minutes later, Inter resorted to its tried-and-tested tactics: lots of movement in positional play, involving the striker, and waiting until a Bayern player exposed his position. Then came the pass into the gap on the left, this time from Barella to Augusto, whose cross was converted by substitute Frattesi to give Inter the lead again.

The score remained 2-1. FC Bayern lost at home in the Champions League for the first time since the 2021 quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Back then, FC Bayern were eliminated despite winning the second leg.

Three Things We Noticed

Inter Ruthlessly Exposed the Weaknesses of FC Bayern’s Man-Marking

From the start, the defensive differences were evident: While Inter defended with a zonal focus, Bayern relied on a clear man-marking approach: All 10 outfield players had fixed opponents. Kane attacked Acerbi, Sané and Olise attacked Pavard Bastoni. Bayern’s full-backs replaced Inter’s midfield players Carlos Augusto and Darmian.

In midfield, the pairings were Kimmich-Barella, Guerreiro-Çalhanoğlu, and Goretzka-Mkhitaryan. Inter targeted the ball in this area: On the one hand, Barella and Çalhanoğlu, in particular, dropped extremely deep. Kimmich and Guerreiro followed them into Sommer’s penalty area, but were then missing in the center. This allowed Inter to spread the pitch vertically. Accordingly, there was ample space for long passes from Bastoni, Barella, and co.

It became even more dangerous for Bayern when Inter outplayed a Bayern player through free-running movements or winning one-on-one duels. Olise was beaten twice by Bastoni, the second of which led to the Inter goal. Just a few minutes earlier, Kim made a strong last-second save from Martínez. A long, flat ball halfway across the pitch from Barella was enough to cut through Bayern’s exposed center.

Another consequence of the spread-out field during Inter’s possession and Bayern’s man-marking was that Martínez and Thuram were regularly able to secure the ball. Dier and Kim often kept a small safe distance. Understandable, but dangerous.

Inter used this pattern less frequently in the second half, giving Bayern the ball more often and retreating to deep defensive pressing. Until, in the 88th minute, they put Bayern to the sword once more. Movement, disorganization by Bayern, the strikers let the ball go, Bastoni or Augusto get through on the left. An approach for which Bayern found no answer over 90 minutes.

This FC Bayern is Reaching its Current Limit

On Tuesday evening, four teams competed for a place in the Champions League semifinals. In London, Arsenal faced Real Madrid, and in Munich, FC Bayern faced Inter.

Of these four teams, FC Bayern’s starting eleven had the lowest market value: According to “Transfermarkt,” FC Bayern’s starting eleven had a combined market value of €404 million. This puts FCB at the bottom of Tuesday’s quartet. Inter are slightly above at €432 million, while Arsenal are significantly above Bayern’s market value at €685 million and Real Madrid at €944 million. Real’s starting eleven came in at more than twice as valuable.

Market values ​​aren’t a precise science, but they are an indicator of squad strength. Apart from Kane and Kimmich, no world-class stars started for FC Bayern. Olise was another player on the field who is on the verge of becoming one, but today he primarily revealed defensive weaknesses. The rest of the starting eleven consisted primarily of rotation/role players (Laimer, Stanišić), talented players (Urbig), or backups (Dier, Guerreiro).

That might simply not be a team that belongs in the Champions League semifinals in 2025.

This Gives Hope: The Miracle of Milan and Jürgen Klinsmann

FC Bayern have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout round 15 times since 2000. Eleven times it was also over afterwards. The last time they managed to overturn a deficit was in 2024 against Lazio Roma. On that occasion, however, the second leg was at home in the Allianz Arena.

Turning around a lost home first leg is even more difficult. FC Bayern’s sample size of such defeats is small. This millennium, Bayern have only lost three first leg matches in Munich, most recently against Paris in 2021, and twice before that against Real Madrid. Bayern were eliminated in all three matches.

The last time FC Bayern pulled off an away miracle after a first-leg defeat at home was in Moscow almost 30 years ago. In 1995, FC Bayern lost 1-0 at home to the Russians in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Bayern hit back in the return leg. Jürgen Klinsmann scored twice, Emil Kostadinov provided three assists, and the final result was a 5-0 away win and a place in the next round.

The Miracle of Milan was even longer ago. In 1988, FC Bayern lost 2-0 at home to Inter Milan – and won 3-1 in the return leg. The Bayern players will certainly check out the match report before the return leg.