With Ballon d'Or winner Kane rested on the bench and Kompany still away, Saibari led the line, Olise scored twice and Bayern hit second-tier Magdeburg for six.
The numbers
| FC Bayern München | 1. FC Magdeburg | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 63% | 37% |
| Shots | 19 | 9 |
| Shots on target | 8 | 2 |
| xG | 3.98 | 0.86 |
| Touches in opp. box | 64 | 11 |
| Corners | 6 | 0 |
Result the chances deserved: FC Bayern München 89% / 7% / 1. FC Magdeburg 4% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Bayern München (4-2-3-1): Urbig, Stanišić, Tah, Ito, Brown, Laimer, Bischof, Olise, Karl, Gnabry, Saibari.
1. FC Magdeburg (4-3-3): Reimann, Nadjombe, Müller, García MacNulty, Nollenberger, Chávez, Hyryläinen, Müsel, Iyoha, Żukowski, Atik.
Magdeburg subs: Michel & Bockhorn (63', Chávez & Nollenberger), Baars (75', Iyoha), Mergner (76', Hyryläinen; Bundesliga.com has 75'), Tachie (85', Müsel). Magdeburg coach: Petrik Sander. They kept the XI that beat Karlsruhe 6–1 on Saturday; Chávez is on loan from Bayern (Bundesliga.com).
Cards: Michel (80'), Brown (84'), García MacNulty (86'), Pavlović (89'), Nadjombe (90+1'), all yellow (Bundesliga.com). Goal minutes from FotMob and Bundesliga.com; FC Bayern's report lists the opener at 7', the penalty at 51' (also FotMob) and Brown's goal at 74'. Attendance 75,000, sold out (FC Bayern).
Key moments, move by move
- Karl plays a through ball into Saibari's run (Bundesliga.com, ESPN).
- Saibari gets in behind and draws Reimann out of his goal.
- He rolls it across to Olise, arriving on the right.
- Olise taps into the empty net from about eight metres. Bundesliga.com put the chance at 74%.
- Magdeburg break, and Chávez plays Żukowski through on the left (Bundesliga.com).
- Żukowski cuts inside onto his right foot (ESPN).
- From about 26 metres he shoots towards the far corner.
- Ito's deflection takes it past Urbig (FC Bayern, Bundesliga.com). Bundesliga.com put the chance at 2%.
- Olise spots Saibari's run and plays the pass through (ESPN).
- Saibari controls it on the run (Bundesliga.com).
- Reimann rushes out, and Saibari lifts it over him from about 14 metres (Bundesliga.com: 44%).
- Davies, on at half-time, gets into the box and is held by Nadjombe (Bundesliga.com).
- The referee gives the penalty.
- Reimann dives, and Olise chips it down the middle: a Panenka (Bundesliga.com, kicker).
- Pavlović plays a through ball to Karl on the right (Bundesliga.com, FC Bayern).
- Karl breaks clear on the right side of the box (ESPN).
- His ball goes across the face of goal.
- Davies, at the back post, finishes from under three metres (Bundesliga.com).
- Karl crosses from the right (FC Bayern, Bundesliga.com).
- Davies knocks it down in the box.
- Brown, the left-back, arrives and shoots with his left foot from about 13 metres into the right corner (Bundesliga.com, ESPN).
- Stanišić passes to Santos Daiber, on since 82' (Bundesliga.com).
- From about 22 metres he shoots into the right corner (Bundesliga.com).
No Kane, so Saibari ran in behind instead of coming short
- Two changes, one big one. From the side that won at Freiburg, Ito came in for Upamecano and Saibari for Kane (Bundesliga.com). Kane, the new Ballon d'Or winner, sat out the whole game (Al Jazeera). Without a striker who drops to receive, Bayern's front line attacked the space behind Magdeburg's back four instead.
- Passes in behind. The first two goals came the same way: Karl's through ball for Saibari, who squared for Olise (10'), then Olise's pass for Saibari to lift over Reimann (21'). Bundesliga.com put those two chances at 74% and 44%.
- Living in the box. Bayern had 64 touches in Magdeburg's box to 11, and 3.98 xG from 19 shots to 0.86 from nine (FotMob). FC Bayern counted 674 completed passes to 363 and six corners to none.
- The weak spot: losing it. Magdeburg's two best moments came on the break: Chávez's pass for Żukowski's deflected equaliser (15'), and Atik hitting the post after Ito gave the ball away just before half-time (Bundesliga.com). Danks said Bayern "found our rhythm" only in the second half.
Tactical scenes
After the break Karl kept drifting from the middle to the right side of the box. Pavlović found him there for the 4–1, and his ball across was finished by Davies; three minutes later his cross was knocked down by Davies for Brown.
Evidence: 2 of Bayern's 6 goals came from Karl's balls from the right, 3 minutes apart (Bundesliga.com, FC Bayern). Karl had 5 shots, the most on the pitch (FC Bayern statistics). Bundesliga.com live ticker · FC Bayern match report · FC Bayern: match statistics
Magdeburg rarely had the ball, but twice in the first half they broke quickly after winning it: Chávez put Żukowski through for the equaliser, and after Ito's misplaced pass Atik went past Stanišić and Olise and hit the left post.
Evidence: Magdeburg had nine shots worth 0.86 xG (FotMob). Their goal, a 2% chance by Bundesliga.com's model, and the shot against the post both came from fast breaks (Bundesliga.com). Bundesliga.com live ticker (German) · FotMob match page · FC Bayern match report
Recreate it in FM26
FC Bayern München · Saibari runs, Karl and Olise play the early pass · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Saibari runs, Karl and Olise play the early pass
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Urbig | Sweeper Keeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Stanišić | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Tah | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Ito | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Brown | Wing-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Laimer | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Bischof | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Olise | Wide Playmaker | Winger |
| AM | Karl | Advanced Playmaker | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gnabry | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Saibari | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
- PatienceWork Ball Into Box
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
- Defensive LineHigher
The idea: A Channel Forward who runs instead of dropping, with an Advanced Playmaker and a Wide Playmaker who pass early, before the back four can turn. You need a quick striker and two creators who look forward first.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce a rested Ballon d'Or winner on the bench, or the gap between the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Upamecano on at 46' (for Ito). Keep the plan: it made almost four goals' worth of chances. The one change is at the back: fresh pace at half-time to stop the breaks that were Magdeburg's only way in. It moves FC Bayern München's win chance from 89% to 91% (xG 3.98–0.86 becomes 3.98–0.76). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Bayern München needed
Harry Kane
Bayern hardly missed him in attack, which is the point of the game. With Kane, Bayern keep the ball better when Magdeburg press: he comes short and holds it, so fewer quick passes are lost high, the turnovers behind both of Magdeburg's chances.
Alessandro Bastoni
Magdeburg's best chance after the equaliser came from a lost pass at the back: Ito gave it away and Atik hit the post. A left-footed centre-back who passes cleanly under pressure keeps that ball, and still finds the early pass forward.
What the analysts said
“It was a really positive night.”Aaron Danks, Bayern assistant coach, in charge on the day (FC Bayern website)
“In the second half, we found our rhythm and that gave us the control.”Aaron Danks (FC Bayern website)
“I'm pleased it worked out, even though a few players and even our coach are absent at the moment.”Jonathan Tah (FC Bayern website)
“We also win for our coach.”Nathaniel Brown (FC Bayern website)
“He was discharged from the hospital today. That is the biggest and best news for all of us.”Max Eberl, Bayern board member for sport, on Kompany (ARD, via Al Jazeera)
“I think levelling at 2-2 before the break would've been extremely helpful.”Barış Atik, Magdeburg (FC Bayern website)
Without Kane to drop short, Bayern ran in behind and scored six.
What's happening. Bayern 6–1 Magdeburg, into the last 16 of the cup. Kane rested on the bench two days after winning the Ballon d'Or, and Saibari played up front. Olise scored twice and set up another. Magdeburg, fifth in the 2. Bundesliga, equalised early with a deflected shot and hit the post before half-time, then faded.
How it works. With Kane, the striker comes short and runners go past him. Without him, the striker is the runner. Saibari kept going behind the centre-backs, and Karl and Olise played the pass early, before the back four could drop. It works against a line that steps up. The cost: when the quick pass fails, the ball is lost high, and both Magdeburg chances came from breaks like that.
What the shots say. By FotMob's numbers Bayern made close to four goals' worth of chances and allowed under one. One reading: a rotated side controlled a cup tie the way a top team should. The other: the first half was level for a spell, and Magdeburg's best moments came from Bayern losing the ball, the same weakness a better side will look for.