It’s often said that possession is an overrated statistic and that for every time a team like Barcelona dominates a match by knocking it around and leaving their opponent helpless there is another who knock it around to no end game. The first half of the UEFA Champions League match between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich was a test of that possession theory as the Germans carried the play to dominate possession, while the Italians claimed all of the best chances.
Inter Milan Vs. Bayern Munich: At Halftime One Side Claims Possession, The Other Has The Chances
For the bulk of the first half Bayern was free to knock the ball around wherever they wanted to. The center of the park was completely dominated by the Germans, who were able to take advantage of Inter's failed tactics. In putting Wesley Sneijder and Dejan Stankovic in front of the three other midfielders Inter hoped to break up play and let Sneijder and Stankovic establish their attack, but the three midfielders just dropped deeper and deeper until they were almost in their own box and the midfield was ceded to Bayern.
Despite their domination of possession, Bayern had no real chances on goal. They couldn't turn their ability to knock it around into an ability to knock it on goal, let alone in the goal. It was Inter who had the chances to score and it started early. A second minute free kick gave the Italians a chance, but the header off of the free kick just missed the goal. Just before the 30th minute Inter got the best chance of the match when Samuel Eto'o turned and fired on goal to force Thomas Kraft into a very good save.
It's a match of possession versus chances. There's no reason to believe that Bayern will stop keeping the ball, but can Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery unlock the Inter back line? They haven't done so yet and Inter remains a threat on the counter to grab the win at home.
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