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In the home leg we got towelled up. In the away game it looked like more of the same after 15 minutes.

Compare and contrast. Discuss.

I think the big difference was our sacrificing a striker for a midfielder which provided more balance. Also, no Robben.

Silva. Meant that the ball wasn't such a hot potato for us as he could get on the ball, hold onto it and bring others into play.

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:Silva. Meant that the ball wasn't such a hot potato for us as he could get on the ball, hold onto it and bring others into play.

Agreed - when Silva came on in the home leg was the only time we managed to keep hold of the ball as well

Silva is an exceptional player in helping us control the ball. He clearly gives the rest of our team confidence as well. In the first game Bayern pressed so much that often the game was compressed into a very small area. We gave the ball away and they attacked - it happened time and again. In the second game they started like this but a combination of Silva and the threat of Navas and then increasingly Milner meant they couldn't hold the same high line. This was compounded by them using Thiago in a deeper role, he had nothing like the discipline that Lahm showed in the first leg. In that game I got sick at the amount of times Lahm either won the ball or brought if forward. As someone else said the the absence of Robben was a big loss for them. The other thing that seemed a big plus for us, when watching on TV at least, was the change in attitude when Zab came on.

Great post bayblue.

Some people were saying Milner was not good enough for us anymore the other week...........then he goes and puts in a MOTM performance against the best team in Europe.
I am probably one of Garcia's biggest critics, but even he did a job 2nd half.
Like mentioned though, Silva is on another planet when it comes to keep ball. You can put him in the tightest of positions yet he still manages to keep possession, which is huge against teams like Bayern.
Long may it continue.

Nickyboy wrote:

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:Silva. Meant that the ball wasn't such a hot potato for us as he could get on the ball, hold onto it and bring others into play.

Agreed - when Silva came on in the home leg was the only time we managed to keep hold of the ball as well

He's been a different player this season. I was hugely frustrated at him because I felt for the second half of the title winning season and pretty much all of last season he largely underperformed and didn't play anything like we knew he could.
This season he's been better than he ever was imo, same with Aguero. The transformation in these two along with Nasri has been astonishing.

Got to credit Pellegrini for man management here.

The two upfront hurt us badly in the first game. I also recall Micah Richards playing in the home game. The difference between him and Zabaleta was clear for all to see on Tuesday night.

One thing that is worth remembering about the first game. Yes we were tore to shreds in the first 60 minutes but once we changed tactics and shored up the midfield it was 3-1 and Yaya Toure is clear through on goal and would have scored if he was not brought down with ten minutes to go. If we had got a point if would have been completely undeserved but Boatangs strategic red card stopped a grand stand finish.

bayblue wrote:Silva is an exceptional player in helping us control the ball. He clearly gives the rest of our team confidence as well. In the first game Bayern pressed so much that often the game was compressed into a very small area. We gave the ball away and they attacked - it happened time and again. In the second game they started like this but a combination of Silva and the threat of Navas and then increasingly Milner meant they couldn't hold the same high line. This was compounded by them using Thiago in a deeper role, he had nothing like the discipline that Lahm showed in the first leg. In that game I got sick at the amount of times Lahm either won the ball or brought if forward. As someone else said the the absence of Robben was a big loss for them. The other thing that seemed a big plus for us, when watching on TV at least, was the change in attitude when Zab came on.

All of this is true.

Then add Yaya, who is great on the ball but doesn't chase when we lose it, Aguero not fully fit (& not chasing) & the huge factor that Dzeko did fuck all in the first leg but ran his bollocks off in the 2nd, & won a fair share of Joe's hopeless punts upfield. In the first leg he won nothing, so, as Joe wouldn't pass the ball out, we were effectively just giving Bayern the ball, not pressing them, & not covering in front of our own defence either.

Bayern come out flying, full tilt, & then they have to breathe. Nobody can maintain that level. In the first game, when they took a rest, we just played with less energy than them & let them have it easy.

Silva, Dzeko, Milner, Navas, Fernandinho, Garcia all chased like fuck in the last game.

We had nowhere near that energy in the first game.

If Dzeko was playing for us in that game, & not just playing to impress the German teams into signing him, he could at last have realised what we need from him.