Despite what Bayern Munich boss Louis Van Gaal might think, this Round of 16 matchup between his team and Inter Milan is not a simple repeat of last year’s Champions League final. Van Gaal has branded Inter as a defensive team, stating that the club has made the choice to play that way, and Bayern’s style is much more attractive. While the Germans certainly do play an attractive attacking game, they won’t be met with the same watertight defense Bayern saw last season.
Inter Milan Vs. Bayern Munich, UEFA Champions League Preview: Not The Big Finale This Time
Since Leonardo came on board at Inter, the title holders have been showing their own brand of attack in Serie A. Playing a 4-3-1-2 that highlights the finishing abilities of their newest acquisition, Giampaolo Pazzini (who won’t be available, as he was with Sampdoria for the playoff round), the nerazzurri are of the mindset that however many goals the opposition score, they’ll just score one more – as perfectly exemplified in their 5-3 win over Roma, when Roma closed a 4-1 deficit to come back to 4-3, Inter put in another for good measure.
It’s this leaky defense that truly makes this a different Internazionale than last year. Inter have kept just one clean sheet in Serie A since Leonardo took over, and many a time have made it appear as though they were on the brink of conceding many more. This is a team that tends to look shaky any time they give their opposition any amount of space, and opposition set to exploit that space could easily tear them to pieces.
And now that Bayern Munich have welcomed back both Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, they’re going to be dangerous on their respective wings, where Inter will be ill-prepared to stop them. During Bayern’s 4-0 win over Hoffenheim on February 12, Robben’s first match back from injury, the Dutchman scored two, while Ribery set up two. With Robbéry, Bayern have plenty of pace, plenty of creativity. Add to that the threat implicit in SuperMario Gómez and Thomas Müller, and you realize there’s almost no chance that this year’s Inter will keep this year’s Bayern from scoring over 180 minutes.
Then again, FCB aren’t exactly known for their impressive defense, either. Philipp Lahm is solid but his supporting cast often falters. This is also a team not used to winning on the road. They may have performed well in the Champions League group stages, winning at both Basel and Cluj, but the weakness of their group may have been more of a factor than their away form. Will a desire to avenge the demons of last year be enough to overcome the hostile atmosphere of the San Siro?
Both sides have the ability to cause the opposition defence rather major problems – Bayern with their wing play and Inter Milan with their strong center, so we could be in for a much more exciting match than last year’s final. Of course, any time a game is anticipated to be one featuring all-out attack from both sides, it ends up being a dull, stodgy affair that puts people to sleep, so don’t get your hopes up too high.
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