Bayern Munich couldn’t stop scoring. Then they came up against Unai Emery

To beat Bayern Munich, Unai Emery needed Aston Villa to play the game, not the occasion.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said it was so loud his ears hurt. A first Champions League home fixture, against the team that Villa beat to win the competition (then called the European Cup) in 1982, was always going to be evocative.

“Before the match, for me it was not the most important to win,” said Emery. “It was how we could compete. We needed to compete defensively more than normal”.

Going into the game, Villa had only one clean sheet in eight games across all competitions this season — away to Young Boys on matchday one in the Champions League. They had not conceded more than twice in any game, but their defence was certainly not watertight.

Therefore facing an unbeaten Bayern side, with 30 goals in their first seven games under Vincent Kompany, was daunting. The same night that Villa won 3-0 in Bern, Bayern put nine past Dinamo Zagreb.

Emery, a game-plan obsessive, made some specific tweaks. A 90-minute video analysis session on the morning of the game, with the players, paid off.

Villa typically defend in a 4-4-2 mid-block, though against Bayern they repeatedly shifted into a 5-3-2 by dropping the No 10 down.

This happened on both sides, but more often with right No 10 Jaden Philogene, who was a surprise starter but a solid match for Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies in terms of pace.

Here, Philogene slots in, which leaves left winger Kingsley Coman in masses of space to drop deeper and receive. Importantly, with Diego Carlos tight to No 9 Harry Kane, it leaves right-back Ezri Konsa spare.

This tweak ensured Bayern could not overload Villa’s back line with a front five, and minimised horizontal distances between Villa defenders. Bayern could easily access their wingers but switches of play and vertical half-space passes were made much harder.

A feature of Bayern’s build-up under Kompany has been moving Joshua Kimmich from No 6 to the right in build-up, creating an adapted back three.

Here, Aleksandar Pavlovic tries to find right-back Konrad Laimer as he makes a run through the half-space. Villa left-back Lucas Digne is having to watch Laimer and winger Michael Olise (out of shot, close to the touchline).

Digne, similarly to Pau Torres at left centre-back, is displaying the ideal body position: side on, able to move quickly and keep the defensive line.

He beats Laimer in the aerial duel and Youri Tielemans collects Digne’s header, before immediately spinning and trying to find Ollie Watkins on the counter-attack.

That sequence encapsulated the flow of the game: Villa sitting off, Bayern trying to manipulate the shape with wide rotations and balls in behind. When Villa did make regains, they went forward at pace.

“It was kind of giving up certain areas, allowing them to have the ball in certain areas, but when the ball goes into midfield, we’ve got to be at it,” Villa forward Morgan Rogers told TNT after the game. “We knew we probably had to give up some possession, but we could hurt them on the counter. It was about getting the ball forward quickly”.

Villa had just 30 per cent possession and 19 per cent field tilt, which is the share of total final-third passes in the game. Those figures rank second and third-lowest for Villa in games under Emery, and they only had five possessions with nine or more passes.

That approach was as much about playing to Villa’s counter-attacking strengths as avoiding creating the type of game that Bayern wanted, which was the chance to counter-press. “We know Bayern, when they lose the ball, they all swarm towards the ball,” Rogers told TNT.

Of Bayern’s 90 possessions, only 10 started in Villa’s third. Early on, Villa’s out ball was poor, either picking the wrong pass or executing it poorly. Eventually, though, it started to stick and Watkins became a real problem for Dayot Upamecano.

There was one tangle of legs with Upamecano the last defender back, where both ended up on the floor. The Frenchman was booked for a foul on Watkins, when the striker dropped in, then spun and ran in behind, and Upamecano pulled him over.

Bayern’s biggest chance of the game, and their only big chance, came from Villa not getting out. Substitute Mathys Tel played a pass from the wing, into Kane’s feet, and Torres tackled the striker.

Diego Carlos passed the loose ball into Ross Barkley, his closest passing option, rather than playing long. Immediately, two defenders were on the midfielder, and Bayern regained the ball.

Tel’s shot from distance was blocked by Tielemans, and Philogene had to race to the corner flag to stop the ball going out. He hit a pass down the line to Rogers, who had two Bayern players on his back and lost possession.

Bayern quickly worked the ball centrally and Jamal Musiala unlocked the defence with a precise through ball to Serge Gnabry. It was the only time in the game that Villa’s defence was dissected, and it needed a big save from Martinez to preserve the clean sheet.

Villa’s defensive approach forced Bayern into crosses, which suited Emery’s team because they had three tall, aerially strong defenders in Konsa, Torres and Carlos. Bayern had Kane’s aerial threat, but he was outnumbered. Of Bayern’s 19 crosses, only one connected with a team-mate.

With possession, Villa were similarly direct. Bayern pressed man-for-man, and Villa kept their typical build-up shape, with wide full-backs and a double pivot. This enticed Bayern to press with seven, making space for Villa to play over rather than through or round.

Martinez mixed between going long towards Watkins, and playing out short, often to the left — Villa had two left-footed centre-backs in Torres and Carlos, so building down the right would have been more awkward in terms of angles.

It was fitting that Villa’s winner came from an early long ball in behind, from Torres to Jhon Duran. The centre-back was under no pressure but spotted the high Bayern line, and Duran was able to lob Manuel Neuer without much fuss from Upamecano, who could not risk another foul as the last defender back.

WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED 🔥

Has Jhon Durán just delivered the moment of the night?! 😮‍💨

📺 Watch @tntsports and @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/laAj5FwErX

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 2, 2024

Emery accepted that the performance was good, but not perfect: “We could have won or lost, it depends on the saves from Martinez or the goal from Duran”.

His preference for adaptability continues to serve him well in Europe. Emery has won 14 and only lost three of his last 21 group-stage/league-phase Champions League games, across his time at Villarreal, Paris Saint-Germain and now Aston Villa.

This was Villa’s first 1-0 home win since two in the same week against Arsenal and Manchester City last December. The game will be memorable for the audacious Duran finish and two big late Martinez saves, but for 80 minutes, Villa put in one of their best and most disciplined tactical displays under Emery.