3 things that went right for Bayern Munich against Sevilla

Final Score: Sevilla 1-2 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich travelled to Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Spain to take on Sevilla in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final fixture on Tuesday night.

At kickoff, Sevilla looked like capitalising early on in the game as Bayern's defence looked a bit jaded. After missing out on a couple of chances, Pablo Sarabia finally got hold of an early Sergio Escudero cross to score from close range for the home side.

A few minutes later, Franck Ribery saw his cross deflect off Jesus Navas into the back of the net past Sevilla's keeper David Soria.

Some to and fro action ensued thereon and the Bavarians finally took the lead when Thiago Alcantara scored a header from a Ribery cross, albeit with a deflection off Sevilla skipper Escudero.

Despite not turning out in full flow on the night, Die Roten pulled off an important 2-1 away win against the Andalusian side and here are the three things that went in their favour.

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#3 The first two substitutions

James Rodriguez had an immediate impact off the bench

Bayern Munich endured a difficult first 30 minutes of the game. The defence was shaky, the midfield was uncalibrated, and the attack dysfunctional.

In the process, The Bundesliga table-toppers gave away a slew of chances and some poor finishing by Sevilla saw them trail by only a single goal.

However, things changed for the better with an unintended substitution in the first half. Arturo Vidal went down with some discomfort and was replaced by James Rodriguez at the 36th-minute mark.

A minute later, Bayern scored their equaliser and got right back on track. With Rodriguez operating on the right side of the Bayern midfield, he combined well with Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich to string a few passes together.

This got the flow going for the Bavarians and they finally showed decent potency on the attacking side of things.

At half-time, Jupp Heynckes replaced the struggling Juan Bernat with the much more experienced Rafinha. This move helped in closing down the lid on Pablo Sarabia who was taking Bernat to the cleaners.

Rafinha provided the much-needed composure to keep the Spaniard in check and did not allow him enough room to link up with Ben Yedder.

#2 Increasing the tempo in the second half

Jerome Boateng had a good second half after being caught out of position several times early on

In what has been a characteristic of every Bayern side under Jupp Heynckes, the Bavarians picked up the tempo in the second half to give Sevilla a better taste of their capabilities.

The likes of Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez had been caught out of position on numerous occasions in the first half due to some delicate one-touch football between Joaquin Correa and Ben Yedder.

However, the two defensive giants took control of proceedings in the second half. Boateng was clinical in cutting off the lanes for Sevilla's attackers whilst both him and Mats Hummels put in some meaty tackles to keep the offence of the Andalusians in check.

Martinez was also instrumental in breaking plays in the middle of the park and getting Bayern on their way up the pitch to counter whenever the opportunity arose.

On the offensive side of things, Muller and Rodriguez looked involved in the thick of things as they created a plethora of opportunities for the Bavarians while sustaining extended pressure on the Sevilla defence.

While Robert Lewandowski didn't contribute much, he was still a target man and knowing the same, Sevilla players heavily man-marked him. However, the Polish striker used his movement to create space for other players inside the penalty box.

The tactic finally paid off as Thiago Alcantara was able to head a goal from close range to give Bayern the lead.that would ultimately turn out to be the winner.

#1 Diagonal switch in play

Thiago (middle) headed in the winner for Bayern

Probably Bayern Munich's biggest weapon on the night, diagonal long balls always helped in finding a man out wide in space. This, in turn, helped to create opportunities on offence and to break open a rather resilient Sevilla back line.

Franck Ribery and the ever-running engine in Muller operated on either flank of the pitch. The two were on the receiving end of diagonal long balls by the likes of Kimmich, Hummels and Rafinha. Even Rodriguez would chip in from time to time.

Not only did this change the direction of the attack, the accuracy of these long balls by the Bayern players helped in quickly advancing the ball up the pitch after a Sevilla attack, thereby putting pressure on the hosts on the counter.

In fact, a diagonal long ball from Boateng found Ribery in space on the left flank, who then served up a cross which was headed in by Thiago via a deflection to put Bayern in the lead. The goal ultimately turned out to be enough for Bayern to secure an away win against Vincenzo Montella's side.