[NoSkillz]

Tue. December 12, 2023

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Bayern Munich (2-2-1, 8 points, 2nd) vs. Dover (3-2-0, 11 points, 1st)
Allianz-Arena, Munich, Germany

Betting Odds: Bayern Munich: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 3-1
Past Meetings: 0W 1D 0L

Barring a monster loss today, we will win our group on goal differential at worst, as we have a five goal advantage right now over today’s opponents. Munich likely need a win today against us to move on to the Knockout Stage, as Palermo faces the weak Dynamo Kyiv and should get all three points in that game. Munich have two great strikers in Capixaba and Alejandro Villarreal, who have 15 and 12 goals respectively. It’s an elite club and as usual, they are leading the German Bundesliga once again. In a bit of good news, their dangerous right midfielder Parana will miss today’s game with a heel injury.

We still have some major injury troubles and will go with a one striker formation today. Paul Moses will be alone up front today and Andrea Rocca will sit behind him in the attacking midfield spot. Manuel Perez is in goal today. We are already through to the next round so this isn’t a must win game but we want to try to knock FC Bayern out of the competition, if possible. Despite being big underdogs, we’re going with a control mentality - we’re already through so we might as well play a positive game! Plus, we know through our advanced scout that FC Bayern play well against flat 4-4-2 so we go with something different…

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - M. Perez
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
M - N. Cairney, Jose
AM - A. Bamba, A. Rocca, G. Allan
S - P. Moses
Bench - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, E. Harvey, R. Ramirez, L. Kunchev, H. Cruz, S. Andrea

Capixaba and Villarreal are up front in their flat 4-4-2 today. Emiliano Pighin, a tough name to type, is in net.

8’ - We have possession and it’s Contreras feeding Jose in our end. He’s tackled by Carlos Alberto of Bayern and the ball comes to Capixaba. Saber Nasri misses a tackle and the big Bayern striker walks in on Perez and shoots past him and into the net. Ugh. Bad start. FC BAYERN GOAL 1-0

12’ - Jose wins a header in their end to Andrea Rocca. He sends a little touch pass into the area and there is Paul Moses, taking two steps and FIRING A ROCKET past Pighin and IN! Instant reply!!! DOVER GOAL 1-1

17’ - We have possession and a ball is sent through to Neil Cairney. He’s in the area and taken down. Bayern clear as Cairney gets up and finally a whistle blows. I’m thinking Cairney is going to get a diving penalty but the ref points to the spot! PENALTY!!! Cairney steps up to take it and his shot is left but the goaltender guesses correctly and MAKES THE SAVE. NOOOOOOO!!!!

21’ - We have these guys on their heels for some reason and we dribble the ball out of our end with Jose leading the way. A defender challenges him but that just opens up ACRES OF SPACE for Paul Moses and Jose smartly sends the ball up to him. Moses runs in on goal, Pighin is out to challenge but the shot is low and curls into the net for his second of the game! Woo! DOVER GOAL 2-1

34’ - We have a goal kick and Perez’s boot is headed back our way. Contreras mis-times his jump and the ball is over his head and Villarreal is on it. He’s in all alone but Perez makes the great save!

45’+1 - Munich move up the left side and a cross comes into the box to Villarreal. His shot is saved in spectacular fashion by Perez but three of our defenders miss the rebound and it’s Capixaba on the doorstep, knocking it in for his second for the late half dagger. FC BAYERN GOAL 2-2

HALFTIME - The score is tied but these guys are beating us bad on the stat sheet, as they hold 59% of possession and a 7-4 (4-3 on target) shot advantage. We’ll change tactics soon, likely moving to a flat 4-4-2 with a counter attacking mentality but not quite yet. I tell the team that one goal will get us the win!

49’ - I’m screaming at Salim Loucif, as he completely gets out of position and it allows Villarreal to have a clear cut breakaway. Somehow, Perez makes a SPECTACULAR stop to keep the game tied.

52’ - This is almost laughable, as Villarreal gets loose again and has a partial break with Saber Nasri chasing. Nasri catches up but MISSES the tackle, allowing Villarreal to shoot but Perez makes the stop. The rebound is loose and Nasri MISSES AGAIN and the Bayern striker shoots again but Perez is up and MAKES ANOTHER SAVE! Boy, he’s saving us today but the rest of the team is AWOL.

59’ - After fifteen minutes of straight pressure, we finally get a change, taking out a tired Andrea Rocca and a terribly ineffective Arsene Bamba and bringing in Shanon Andrea and Helder Cruz. We move to a flat 4-4-2 and to a counter attacking mentality.

61’ - I’m at a complete loss with our team right now. We kick it up and they head it back over our defence and ALL FOUR GUYS ARE STANDING THERE as Villarreal darts past them for the ball. He’s got about his fourth breakaway of the game and for the fourth time, Perez bails out the rest of our team. This defence is APPALLING today. I have no clue what’s going on.

I just want to say that with the score 2-2, I don’t see ANY WAY we’re getting out of here without a loss right now. I haven’t seen our team play like this in years. It’s amazing that Perez has kept us in it this far into the game.

73’ - Moses gets a weak shot on net and Pighin makes the save. A better ten minutes there but it’s INCREDIBLE how FAST Bayern Munich are playing and how SLOW we are playing.

81’ - Perez with another save off a shot from distance. He’s been sensational today.

82’ - Perez AGAIN with a spectacular save, this time on Capixaba! My goodness!

84’ - Jose is exhausted and I bring in Emmerson Harvey for him. We pull back to a crawl on our tactics - slow everything down, play deep, narrow, etc.

85’ - Right after the change, we have a corner and it’s Graham Allan taking it. The cross is to the far post and there is Claudio Contreras, having a poor game but making up for it with a vicious header and it’s off a Bayern defender and IN! Wow! DOVER GOAL 3-2

Bayern are now in a 4-2-4 formation!

87’ - We steal the ball, courtesy of Emmerson Harvey and Cruz then moves it up to Moses. He’s on a two-on-one with Andrea but shoots and Pighin makes the great diving save!

WE HOLD ON against all odds!

FC Bayern 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8), Claudio Contreras (7.7)
Assists - Jose (7.4), Graham Allan (6.9), Andrea Rocca (6.9)
Man of the Match - Capixaba (FC BAYERN ST - 8.9)
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (8.1), Salim Loucif (7.2), Renato Gaucho (7.2)
Attendance - 54,020

They held 55% of possession and a crazy 25-11 (13-7 on target) shot advantage in a game where we were outplayed more than any other game I can remember in the last few years. But we somehow get the set piece goal and knock FC Bayern OUT OF THE COMPETITION!

-- That’s because Palermo beat Dynamo Kyiv and end up with one more point than Bayern and it’s Palermo joining us in the knockout stage! A notable game sees AS Monaco ANNIHILATE Croatian club Hajduk 11-0, easily the largest scoreline I’ve ever seen. Despite that, Monaco finishes third in Group B behind Barcelona and AZ. Group A sees Galatasaray and Arsenal move on and in Group D, as previously mentioned, Real Madrid and Juventus prevail. In Group E, it’s Man United and Ajax moving on while Group F sees OM and in a bit of a shock, Celtic, moving on, with favoured Sevilla going home. In Group G, Chelsea and Olympique Lyonnais move on and finally, in Group H, it’s Atletico Madrid and Bursaspor getting through.

-- As usual, we earn £696,000 for the victory.



Contract Extension

-- It happens very quickly but we are happy to announce that GK Ingo Wilke has signed a two-year contract extension and gets a bump in wages to £18,500/week, still a bargain for the long-time White! Wilke will start giving way to Manuel Perez eventually but he continues to perform at a high level and deserves the raise.



Injury Update

-- Both Chiquinho and Gian Marco Fanfoni return to full training. I doubt either will be ready to go by Saturday’s game against Middlesbrough but we’ll see if they can make an immediate impact.



Next Up

-- We host surprising Middlesbrough, who have been “giant killers” in the early goings of the Premier League season.