Bayern's Backline Aim to Prevent Dortmund's Title Defence

Hannover 96’s defeat of Bayern Munich last weekend brought an end to a run of eight matches without a single goal conceded by Jupp Heynckes’ side. A 23rd minute penalty by Mohammed Abdellaoue meant Manuel Neuer was finally beaten for the first time in 769 league minutes, since the opening match of the season at home to MGladbach. Jerome Boateng’s subsequent sending off meant Munich were up against it and despite a valiant attempt, went down 2-1, with their lead cut at the top of the Bundesliga to just three points.

Overall, though, Bayern have conceded just 3 goals in their first ten matches, a fantastic effort and, given that they’ve scored 26 at the other end, means they have the best attacking and defensive stats in Germany’s top division. WhoScored has decided to analyse their defensive performances so far:

Team Statistics

With 64% average possession, Bayern’s dominance of their matches has been a fundamental factor in their strong defensive displays. Borussia Dortmund are next best in the Bundesliga with 59% but, even away from home, Heynckes’ side average 63% - more than any other side manage at home.

They average 526 short passes per game, significantly higher than next best Dortmund’s 457. As a result, Bayern have conceded just 7 shots per game - 10 away and a mere 4 at home.  In terms of shot zones, 57% of these have come outside the box, with 43% inside the Bayern 18-yard box, as opponents are forced to try their luck from distance more often than not.

Overall, Bayern have averaged a combined total of 39 tackles and interceptions (20 & 19) – only two sides, Hoffenheim with 37 (22 & 15) and Freiburg with 38 (18 & 20) make less, further demonstrating that their superior possession means less defensive work is required. Schalke lead the way defensively - a combined total of 52 tackles and interceptions (23 & 29), making up for the fact that they only average 50% possession, despite sitting in third place, just 4 points behind Bayern.

A further aspect of this limited defensive work is shown by the card count - Bayern have received just 13 yellows this term, the second-lowest tally in the league. Last weekend’s opponents Hannover 96 top the cautions charts, with 25 bookings and 2 red cards racked up already.

Team Shape

A look at the player position map from the last game that Bayern finished with eleven men (above), the 4-0 home win over Hertha Berlin, highlights their typical shape. The full-backs Philipp Lahm (21) and Jerome Boateng (17) push on from deep and play almost like wingers - analysis of Bayern’s stats confirm this.

While Bastian Schweinsteiger (31) makes the most passes of any Bayern player, with 81.9 per game, the side’s reliance on their full-backs getting forward is highlighted by the fact that Lahm and Rafinha, the usual right-back, are second and third for passes per game, with 76.3 and 69.1 respectively. Their ability to forage forward down the flanks is a key aspect to the success of the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Lahm, in particular, crucial to the ploy - 42% of Bayern’s attacks have come from the left hand side, compared with just 30% from the right.

With such an attack-minded role in the side, their defensive stats are not overly impressive. Lahm has averaged 2.4 tackles and 2.4 interceptions over his ten appearances at left-back, while Rafinha has 2 and 2.1 respectively. Boateng – whether at centre-half or right-back has averaged 1.5 and 2.4 in comparison.

Indeed, a look at the stats of Bayern’s first-choice pairing of Daniel Van Buyten and Holger Badstuber shows how underworked they’ve been. Van Buyten has needed to make just 1.2 tackles and 2.3 interceptions, while Badstuber has slightly edged him with 1.5 and 2.7 respectively. The duo have been particularly dominant in the air, though, with Badstuber winning 80% of aerial duels to Van Buyten’s 76%.

Double Pivot the Key
Much of the defensive work has been the domain of Bayern’s double pivot. As mentioned above, Bastian Schweinsteiger is the heartbeat of the Bayern team, dictating play with 81.9 passes per game and has played every one of the ten league games to date. Alongside him, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (number 44 in above diagram) and Luiz Gustavo have taken it in turns to start, with five appearances in Heynckes’ first XI apiece.

Though the Bayern attackers have grabbed much of the headlines with a series of devastating and incisive displays, the central midfielders bring the balance, allowing the full-backs to forage forward, while protecting the centre-halves and breaking up opponents’ attacks with plenty of tenacity and snap in the tackle. It’s no surprise to see the trio lead the way for defensive stats.

Tymoshchuk, in particular, has been the most impressive defensively. The Ukrainian has proved the perfect foil for Schweinsteiger, making 3.3 tackles, 2.7 interceptions and winning 56% of aerial duels. A 92% pass accuracy is indicative of his safety-first approach and, keeping it simple when in possession, he’s averaged just 0.7 key passes per game from a total of 68.3.

Schweinsteiger’s role as creator in the middle doesn’t prevent him producing a strong defensive shift. He’s produced 2.9 tackles and 1.7 interceptions, while also making 1.7 key passes per game. Gustavo has averaged just 39.3 passes and 0.1 key pass per game - clearly he takes on less of a role than Tymoshchuk when partnering Schweinsteiger, then.

Of the three, Gustavo marginally has the least defensive output- 2.8 tackles and 1.6 interceptions, though leads the way in the air, winning 76% of aerial duels and is the only central midfielder to bag a WhoScored man of the match award - a clear acknowledgement of the position’s importance to Heynckes’ side as Bayern look to see off the challenge of Dortmund and reclaim the title.