Chelsea vs Bayern Munich: The Battle Of The 4-2-3-1's

On the 5th of April, the day after the semi finalists of the 2012 UEFA Champions League were decided, it looked almost certain to be an all Spanish final, the battle of the big two – Real Madrid vs Barcelona. Blocking Madrid’s path to Munich, were the hosts themselves, an inconsistent yet explosive Bayern Munich side. Barcelona were to face a relatively easier battle against Chelsea, underperforming in the Premier League but a determined side in the Champions League. High levels of concentration, defiant defending and some brilliant and clinical counter attacking football saw Chelsea upset the Catalan giants despite the fact that they were 2-0 down and played more than half of the game with ten men. Bayern, however had a different approach to their tie and were absolutely fantastic in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu and managed to take Real to penalties where Bayern were triumphant. This set up a Bayern Munich vs Chelsea final, in Bayern’s backyard on the 19th of May. Maybe not the final that the neutrals were hoping for but definitely one that has the potential to be a cracking affair.

The West Londoners and Bavarians seem to have a lot in common. Both teams are known for hiring and firing managers at an unusually quick rate and this season both have had disappointing domestic campaigns with Bayern surrendering the Bundesliga and Chelsea struggling to finish in the top four. They will be participating in the finals of the domestic cups, with Chelsea playing Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern up against Dortmund in the German Cup. The top priority for the two clubs is the prestigious Champions League with Bayern looking for their fifth, while Chelsea are aiming for their first. The biggest similarity between these two teams this season is that they play a 4-2-3-1 formation. This has lead to Munich playing an attractive brand of football, while Chelsea’s football may be less glamorous but certainly effective as they have lost only one game in fifteen after interim manager Roberto Di Matteo has taken over. The game will be almost like a game of chess with most of the fans under the impression that Jupp Heynckes will be first to say “check mate”. However, if this seasons competition is anything to go by Chelsea have seemed to produce breathtaking performances while the odds have been stacked against them and history also favours the Blues as no side has successfully won the Champions League with the final being played at their home stadium.

GOALKEEPERS

The game will arguably showcase the best goalkeeper in Europe, Manuel Neuer, against the man who formerly held that title, Petr Cech. Neuer did complete justice to his”best goalkeeper in the world” tag with his penalty shootout heroics in Madrid while Cech did his reputation no harm against Barca either. These two goalkeepers stand between the sticks for their national sides as well and their performance on the night will be crucial and may in fact determine the result of the game.

Back Four

If there is one area in particular that Chelsea will aim to exploit, it will be the Bayern back four. The Germans look incredible going forward but are known to have nervy moments at the back, to say the least. To make matters worse they will be without the suspended Holger Badstuber and the young left back, David Alaba who has caught the eye of many in Europe. Chelsea have shown valiant defending in the last couple of weeks but have not been so solid this season as they usually are. Bayern will be encouraged by Chelsea captain John Terry’s red card. It would be mean that David Luiz and Gary Cahill would play at the back and while these two men might go onto be the best in Europe, they still haven’t formed a solid partnership. The suspension of Branislav Ivanovic means that Jose Bosingwa will have to slot in at right back and while he is good at going forward, but is often venerable at defending. The two sides might not boast the best defence around but in my opinion they do have the two best wing backs in the world, Ashley Cole and Philip Lahm. Their experience and tireless running will be key for their sides, in the defending and attacking half of the field.

Midfield Two

Whichever team comes out on top in midfield will probably be the team that lifts the trophy. This battle will involve two of Europe’s finest ever products in the form of Frank Lampard and Bastian Scheinsteiger. Both players are attack minded by nature but have been adapted to play in a deeper roll. They will not be afraid to have a go from distance and don’t be surprised to see them amongst the goals and venturing forward at every opportunity. The holding midfield role that John Obi Mikel has made his own at Chelsea, under Di Matteo is a key role as he will have to break down fast paced attacks. Mikel’s expected counterpart is Luis Gustavo but he will miss out through suspension which is a worry for Munich and will now have either the Ukrainian Tymoshchuk or Danijel Pranjic fill in.

Attacking Three

Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos are two of Germany’s most exciting young prospects and one of them will be at the heart of most Bayern attacks, with Kroos likely to get the nod as the charismatic Muller hasn’t been in the greatest form this season. The man to sit behind the Chelsea striker will be Juan Mata. The Spaniard has been the only bright spark in an otherwise dull Chelsea side and he will have to be at his best if the Blues have any chance of winning the final. It is clear that Chelsea will not have the best wingers on show at the Allianz Arena and that is because they will be playing against them. Franck Ribery in my opinion, is the best winger in the world at the moment with his teammate and former Chelsea man Arjen Robben up there as well. If these two get going, regardless of Chelsea’s performance Bayern will most definitely create history by being the first side to win the Champions League at home. Chelsea’s biggest loss due to suspension will be the energetic Ramires who has been outstanding this season. He is likely to be replaced by Daniel Sturridge who has the potential to be great but can be extremely selfish and has trouble making the right decision, like most English wingers. Salomon Kalou will probably be deployed on the left wing with Florent Malouda not capable of producing half the performance in the Chelsea blue that he does in the French blue.

The Lone Striker

Didier Drogba will not have pleasant memories of his last Champions League final which ended with him being sent off against Manchester United. The big Ivorian has been inconsistent this season but has recently produced some inspiring performances. His theatrics can get under the skin of the opposition involved but on his day he is almost unstoppable. It seems that he will start ahead of Fernando Torres but in my opinion it should be the number nine upfront from the start. He looks like he is almost back to being the El Nino of old and his work rate and attitude has been commendable. Hopefully, Chelsea will start to play football that suits his game more next season to bring out the best of one of the world’s best forwards. While Chelsea’s strikers have had misfiring seasons, Bayern’s main man Mario Gomez seems to be in heaven. He has scored goal after goal after goal and is always at the right place at the right time. No one would bet against the German being the man to open the scoring as he has been one of the most prolific strikers this season.