Bayern Munich vs PSG: 5 Talking Points

#3 Franck Ribery puts in a shift on the wing

Franck Ribery had a number of battles with Dani Alves

Franck Ribery is now 34 years old and yet he was asked to play in a rather unconventional role even though it was a familiar position. The Frenchman usually plays on the left of a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 but on this occasion he was quite literally a traditional winger in the 4-1-4-1 (sometimes a 4-5-1).

This meant that he had to work his socks off to get up and down his flank. Ribery spent more time near the half-line rather than closer to the final third for two reasons.

He not only had to advance the ball forward as an outlet on the left to stretch the game but he also had to protect David Alaba by providing cover to prevent Dani Alves from making forward runs on that flank.

With Alaba busy keeping Mbappe in check, someone had to take care of Alves and the captain took it upon himself to do so. It was also the first time he was captaining Bayern in more than 4 years.

The two veterans had their battles on the flank and it was Ribery who came out on top with a 100% tackle success rate. He also managed to dribble past Alves on a couple of occasions, even managing to create an opportunity in the first half.