The Regista - Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich tactical review: Ancelotti midfield masterclass & his attacker's freedom

Tribalfootball.com's tactics expert Connor Holden pulls apart Real Madrid's stunning win against Bayern Munich and details how coach Carlo Ancelotti organises his midfield to dominate games and offers freedom to his star attackers.

Real Madrid yet again came from behind in Europe to secure a place in the Champions League final. A brace from former Stoke City forward Joselu in the 88th and 91st minutes secured Madrid a 2-1 victory, and will see Jude Bellingham facing his former side Borussia Dortmund in the final on June 1st.

Whilst this game had a combination of individual brilliance (Alphonso Davies' goal for Bayern), defensive mistakes (Manuel Neuer's error after having a phenomenal game) and late VAR controversy, we are still going to look into the tactical side of this game, and what Madrid did to give themselves a shot at their 15th (yes 15TH!) UCL title.

MIDFIELD OVERLOAD AND RELATIONISM

This first image shows how Real Madrid set up “on paper" in this 4-1-2-1-2 diamond.

However some would view this as a 4-4-2, and this is how Madrid played out of possession, pressing in a 4-4-2 shape with Bellingham as a left midfielder and Fede Valverde as a right midfielder.

You could even see Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni pressing Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic high up the pitch to keep them facing their own goal, which would see one of Valverde or Bellingham drop slightly more deep and narrow to account for the space behind the midfield pivot when pressing.

However it is Madrid's approach in possession that draws so many eyes, and Carlo Anceloti's philosophy centred around relationism.

In this image, you can see the average positions of the Real Madrid team before substitutions, and what you begin to