When Bayern Munich came on to the pitch against Juventus in the Champions League tie after half time, they had the match pretty much in their control as they got not one but two away goals and it had looked like as if they would get even more before the end. A match which was expected to be real cracker had become ordinary at half time. Juventus had other ideas and they came out with vengeance. They made a match out of nothing and scored goals which gave them a glimmer of hope when they travel to Alliance Arena in March to get something out of the tie. So what went wrong for the Bayern which were going strong till the half time? Did Juventus produce something spectacular? What happened? Let's analyse:
TACTICAL BLUNDER:
When the starting line-up of the teams were announced, many were surprised with the selection of Pep as he had decided to start midfielder Joshua Kimmich in the center back position instead of the second choice Center back because of injuries. The average height of the defence of Bayern was only 5ft 7in. This decision of Guardiola had left many baffled considering the physical approach which is usually adopted by Juventus. Till half time Juventus were unable to get foot hold in the match. So the weakness of Bayern was not exposed.
THE MISTAKE EXPOSED
At half time, Juventus came out with a positive approach. They played the game of Bayern Munich against them itself. i.e high pressing approach with a high defence line. It paid off immensely as they scored two goals which eventually meant that Juventus had something to play for in the second leg.
If Pep was happy at the score line at half time, he could have opted for defensive tactics. But he went for more goals which eventually backfired. It may not come back to haunt in this tie as they two have away goal advantage, this blunder will have greater implications as this weakness would have been definitely noted by teams like Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona whom they will face in the quest for the Champions League Trophy in the coming rounds.
