At this time, players from both sides have come to the court for final warm-ups.
Although Bayern is playing at home today, they were drawn as the visiting team, so they are wearing white jerseys.
AC Milan, on the other hand, wears their traditional red and black arrow-striped shirts, which seems to have a "anti-customer-oriented" meaning.
The classic theme song of the UEFA Champions League also began to echo over the stadium.
"Kick Barcelona-Kick Barcelona-Kick Bayern Munich, our factory has collapsed-"
On the sidelines of the court, Pan Yi hummed the song in the unique empty-ear singing style of Dragon Kingdom fans, while his mind was running at high speed, thinking.
This is because after seeing Bayern's lineup, Pan Yi discovered that they had guessed wrong!
Heynckes did not use the 4231 formation, but arranged a 433!
Forwards: Franck Ribery, Mario Gomez, Robben.
Midfielder: Schweinsteiger, Gustavo, Toni Kroos.
Defenders: Alaba, Boateng Jr., Badstuber, Lahm.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Compare it with AC Milan’s 433——
Forwards: Mane, Ibrahimovic, Salah.
Midfielder: Kante, Boateng, Gattuso.
Defenders: Gianluca Zambrotta, Thiago Silva, Van Dijk, Abate.
Goalkeeper: Ederson.
You will find that the two sides are simply a mirror image, with almost the same formation!
Two wingers, one center forward, three central midfielders, no wide midfielders...
From a player perspective, the biggest change in Bayern's formation is the use of a defensive midfielder, Brazilian international Gustavo, to replace Thomas Muller.
Looking at it this way, coach Heynckes probably considered that the double defensive midfielder in his 4231 formation might not be able to compete with Milan's three midfielders, so he removed an attacking midfielder/shadow forward and replaced it with a defensive midfielder. This will inevitably lead to a fierce midfield control with Milan.
This is something Pan Yi never expected.
Heynckes actually dares to change the formation on such an important occasion in the Champions League final!
Moreover, they also use the same formation and personnel configuration as Milan. Is this following Gusu Murong's "treat others the same way as others do to others"?
Of course, formation is often not the most important thing, the main thing is personnel.
Thomas Muller, who had been giving instructions for a long time before the game, is now sitting on the bench, which is a waste of many tactical instructions.
"What should we do now?" Allegri also frowned and asked Pan Yi.
He has never been good at adapting to situations, but he doesn't often encounter this kind of situation this season, so he seems a little at a loss at this time and can only ask Pan Yi for advice.
To win, don’t be shabby.
"We can only let Kante play without marking first." Pan Yi said, "The rest is fine. Anyway, Bayern mainly plays Robben, and the basic playing styles of Ribery and Ribery will not change much.
."
"That's it?"
"Of course, we also need to pay attention to the two full-backs who are pushing in. If Muller is not here, they should strengthen the support of Alaba and Lahm. Salah and Mane should pay more attention to this and follow up immediately.
Defense."
Allegri nodded, stood up and began to instruct the players who were warming up before the game.
……
The game officially started soon.
Amid the countdown shouts of "9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1" from all the fans, Bayern center Gomez kicked off the ball in the center circle, which also triggered a burst of enthusiastic cheers from the fans.
After Gomez passed the ball to Robben, he quickly crossed into the middle of the frontcourt.
Robben passed the ball back to the right back Lahm in the back row, and then ran to the right side of the frontcourt.
On the other side, Ribery also sprinted forward along the left sideline.
As soon as the game started, Bayern's trident fired three arrows at once!
Ram took one look and kicked a diagonal pass forward, trying to find Ribery on the left.
This tactical intention is very clear.
Players in the center and on the right are all feinting, trying to pull Milan's defense apart.
And Ribery, who started last, is the real point of attack for Bayern in this opening attack!
But the AC Milan players obviously were not fooled.
Full-back Abate did not follow the line to move to the other side, but looked closely at Ribery.
When the ball flew over, Abbate jumped high and pushed the ball back.
The ball's second landing point was picked up by Bayern midfielder Kroos.
Without any hesitation, he directly found Gomez who had already run into the Milan penalty area, giving the tall German center a chance to attack the goal.
But Milan goalkeeper Ederson was well prepared and gave up the ball decisively early, winning the ball near the penalty spot.
Ederson held the ball with one hand and signaled his teammates to hold on with the other hand.
Pan Yi on the sidelines nodded slightly.
After a whole season of training and competition, the overall quality and technical and tactical qualities of Milan players have reached a very high level.
On the court, they can perfectly perform the tasks assigned by the coach, and they can also make their own correct responses based on the actual situation.
Now Bayern wants to take advantage of the home court to launch a wave of offensive, thereby boosting the momentum of the whole team.
Milan cannot let them take away the rhythm, but must slow down and bring the game back to its familiar rhythm.
If Bayern fails to succeed in several attacks, they may become anxious and make mistakes.
And once the opponent makes a mistake, Milan will have a chance to counterattack.
……
So at the beginning of the game, it was Bayern attacking and Milan defending.
As Pan Yi expected before the game, Ribery and Robben were active on both wings.
They are very active in asking for the ball from their teammates, and after getting it, they all try to cut inside.
But Milan's midfield and defense remained very compact, leaving no more gaps for them.
Moreover, Milan has already made targeted arrangements for their breakthroughs, and has deployed heavy troops on both sides of the penalty area. As soon as they get the ball, they will be surrounded by at least two Milan players chasing and intercepting them.
This makes it difficult for both Robbery to pose a threat to Milan's goal.
Once Bayern's two full-backs Alaba and Lahm come up to assist Robery, they will also be defended by Salah and Mane, making it difficult for them to cooperate.
Although Bayern's change of formation was sudden, the Milan players who received temporary instructions still performed well in overall defense, which also made Pan Yi on the sidelines feel reassured.
He believes that as long as the team follows the current pace and does not make mistakes, it will be difficult for Bayern to break Milan's goal.
All that's left is to see when Bayern makes a mistake.
……
The game had already reached the 20th minute before I knew it.
Robben gets the ball again on the wing.
Gianluca Zambrotta came up to defend, but his attack was too fierce, and Robben passed the ball with a deft instep.
Robben had already made space, but he did not pass the ball immediately. Instead, he continued to take a step sideways along the line of the penalty area, and then took off.
He wants to cut in and shoot directly!
Center back Thiago Silva rushed forward to block the ball, but Robben didn't really take off. Instead, he moved forward and prepared to take off again.
At this time, he had moved from the right side of the penalty area to the center.
Van Dijk is right here at the penalty spot in the middle.
He saw both Zambrotta and Silva being shaken by, and he didn't dare to step forward for a while. He could only stand there with his hands behind his back to prevent Robben from continuing to pass.
But at this time Robben really shot!
The ball drew an arc and went straight into the lower left corner of Milan's goal.