When teams get the first leg of a UEFA Champions League tie at home it is essential that they take the play to their opponent and open up some sort of a gap before they go away for the second leg. In an effort to do that in their first leg against Bayern Munich, Inter put Wesley Sneijder and Dejan Stankovic in front of their three other midfielders to try to grab some possession and control of the center of the park, but 25 minutes in it has been a failure.
Inter Milan Vs. Bayern Munich: Inter’s Tactics Failing Early, But Lively On Counter
Instead of the back three midfielders winning the ball and getting it to Sneijder and Stankovic who could hold the ball and break down the Bayern back line, they have just dropped deeper and deeper. The trio of midfielders might as well be defenders and unsurprisingly, Bayern has taken control of the match by dominating the midfield.
With the three deeper midfielders almost in their own box Bayern has had acres of space in the midfield and the supposed attacking players, Sneider and Stankovic, have been forced to try to chase players like Bastian Schweinsteiger around in the midfield. On top of the fact that Sneijder and Stankovic has essentially been turned into dogs playing fetch and just running after the ball in a waste of their talents, Samuel Eto'o has been isolated up top with nobody within shouting distance of him.
Despite this break down of their tactics and hopes of style of play, Inter are not the least bit out of the match. Because they have such an array of attacking talent they have found success on the counter-attack when one of their attacking players gets the ball in a bit of space and shows a bit of magic. Twice Thomas Kraft has been called upon to make fine saves, most recently a sensational diving save to deny Eto’o after a quick turn and hard shot to the far post.
As much as Bayern has knocked it around and Inter’s tactics have failed, the Italians have had the better chances. It may not have been by design, but Inter have found success on the counter-attack and could find themselves a winner from it before this match comes to an end.
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