Robert lewandowskinumber 9, who broke a lot Bayern Munich and Bundesliga scoring record during his eight-year career at the Allianz Arena, left to Barcelona last month. His departure marks the end of an era for the club.
With the Bavarians without a top scorer for the past eight seasons, a big question has arisen: how will coach Julian Nagelsmann organize his side in 2022-23 without a striker. their superstar? We now have the German Super Cup (one Win 5-3 end RB Leipzig) and witnessed by Bayern Win 6-1 against Eintracht FrankfurtWe can analyze what might happen.
Lewandowski’s role throughout the years
It is important to realize that the way Lewandowski was used under Nagelsmann was different than in previous years.
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Since Bayern brought Lewandowski back from rivals Borussia Dortmund In 2014, coaches from Pep Guardiola to Hansi Flick preferred to play a single striker system with him at the heart of their attack. In the majority of these games over the course of eight seasons, Lewandowski’s primary position was placed in the central areas of the field, not just the center of the final third.
One of his duties is to take the space between both centre-backs, force those defenders to cover for him (aka stagger), making the defense ahead of the rest of the defence. becomes more difficult. From there, Lewandowski can drop between the lines to join Bayern’s linked play or attack the space behind defenders. This task is ideal for him as he starts in central areas which makes it a nightmare for defenders as he can use every route and angle possible. . He has more options to attack than his opponent can cover.
Considering there is no limit to where Lewandowski can go from midfield, he can attack spaces in front of a defender or behind, into space beyond their line of sight. This, coupled with the world-class technical ability, defiant dribbling and striker balance every striker needs, explains why he was able to break a number of legendary records. Bayern phone, Gerd Muller.
Finally, as a star, Lewandowski has also been helped by the politics of Bayern Munich. Star players are usually kept happy with no real challenge to their position. This allows him to be front and center, with his support, Eric Maxim Choupo-Motinghappy enough to tag along.
Naglesmann made the change
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Arne Friedrich explains why Bayern Munich hope Sadio Mane can replace Robert Lewandowski’s production part.
When Nagelsmann was appointed head coach of Bayern last summer, it did not change Lewandowski’s role or area of movement, but the manager did increase the number of attacking players in the box, meaning to be Poland The international is still not limited by his position on the field, but has instead been disrupted by his own players. We know this because his expected goals per shot are exactly the same as in the 2020-21 season under Flick, but Lewandowski scores fewer goals. We have a lot of examples of Bayern getting close to the opponent’s box, most recently in a loss Villarreal into the quarterfinals of last season Champions League.
Nagelsmann’s idea that having more players come in the box creates more attacking threats, and therefore more scoring opportunities, as there will be a numerical advantage for the Bayern players when picking up the ball. second or final. It doesn’t matter who comes as long as one of them has come.
However, there is also variation to his role beyond ownership. Against Nagelsmann, Lewandowski will lead the press from a central position, forcing opponents to widen and block their passes into midfield. With Nagelsmann as head coach, that changed as he used more players up front to corner opponents. So instead of Lewandowski starting in the center, he was pushed to the edge more. If Bayern win the ball, he’s in a worse position to lead a counter-attack.
Mane marks the beginning of a new era
With the signing of Sadio Mane are from Liverpool earlier in the summer I would have predicted he was more likely to be played up front than on the wing, unless Serge Gnabry thought about leaving but he ended up signing a new contract. Now that we’ve seen the German Super Cup and their opening goal in Frankfurt, we know this is true, but it’s not quite the replacement I initially thought – and it changes roles too. Gnabry’s game with it.
In the games against RB Leipzig and Frankfurt, Nagelsmann played both fronts in a 4-square-2 formation, with Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller like a winger (not as wide as a typical winger, nor as central as a number 10) behind them. This gives Bayern incredible flexibility as Musiala and Muller cut inwards, occupying central areas between the opponent’s lines, helping Mane and Gnabry escape down the flanks or attack the space up behind the opponent’s last line of defense.
Two goals for Bayern’s @JamalMusiala last night. Talk to him with @arnefriedrich + @ 1_LPfannenstiel last night on @ESPNFC.
Here’s him talking about his position, the communication involved in Bayern’s rotational attack and how he honed his dribbling. pic.twitter.com/e51KbDvBrC
– Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) August 6, 2022
This setup allows attackers to frequently rotate positions, disrupting the opposing team’s ability to organize while spying on Bayern. This worked perfectly thanks to the individual configuration of each player: Mane’s combination of speed and finishing allowed him to strike continuously into the spaces behind the defence; Gnabry’s technique and speed helped him balance Mane’s runs in the back while crossing between lines.
Meanwhile, Musiala’s dexterity in dribbling in tight spaces and Muller’s ability to find space provide the perfect balance for out-of-position strikers, as Muller and Musiala can cut inside. (details above). As soon as one player occupies the new area, another player picks his old position etc, that’s why it’s so hard to defend.
With Leroy Sane and Kingsley Comanboth traditional wingers prefer to maintain a wider range of action in the midfield, Nagelsmann can also add speed, directness and – if needed – breadth to their game.
Nagelsmann still relies on the same tectonic mechanism as last season. This includes Benjamin Pavard stay deeper, helping his team’s central defenders build their play, and Alphonso Davies push higher. The dual axis consists of an axis player (usually Joshua Kimmich) in front of the centre-backs and one taller person to assist in this phase of play (usually Leon Goretzkabut so far it has Marcel Sabitzer).
With Bayern combining their strengths (dribbling ability and flexibility within the four strikers), they have taken a huge step towards redefining their attack. Instead of relying on a single player, they now have the ability to distribute the attacking threat across their front, resulting in them scoring 10 goals against RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.
It was a great start to life without Lewandowski, and we have yet to see players like Sane, Coman, Ryan Gravenberch or young Mathys Tel will complement Bayern’s new attack throughout the season.
