Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich: 3 Tactical Observations | UEFA Champions League 2019-20

#2 Chelsea go with 3 at the back

Chelsea FC v FC Bayern Muenchen - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg

In a daring move to combat Bayern’s attacking prowess, Frank Lampard decided to deploy a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger. In effect, Chelsea went man to man with Bayern’s front three, looking to mark them out the game.

That was the plan, but Bayern’s domination of possession would force the Blues into a back five at times. This allowed James to double up on Gnabry with Azpilicueta, rendering him ineffective at times. The few times Chelsea did enjoy attacking moments in the first half, they came through the wing-backs getting forward and running onto Olivier Giroud flick-ons.

Overall, Lampard’s decision to go with a back three backfired as Bayern were in return able to dominate the midfield, overloading Chelsea’s pivot. It was only in the 72nd minute that the Blues boss abandoned the system and reverted to a 4-3-3.