Five match observations on Bayerns 5-0 win vs Werder Bremen

1. Mario Götze in the middle

In his return to the pitch, Götze lined up in the middle behind Thomas Muller, with Franck Ribery and Kingsley Coman to his left and right, respectively. His play was quite encouraging, as he was unlucky to not get on the score sheet, with Bremen keeper Felix Wiedwald denying him on a fine effort in the first half, and then saving his shot again from point blank range in the second half. In his quest to return to his pre-injury form, this was certainly a big step in the right direction. A healthy and confident Götze would be huge for both Bayern and Germany going forward.

2. David Alaba was everywhere

Playing at "left-back", Alaba was himself all over the pitch, at times occupying the left wing area and even finding himself as the most forward attacker a few times. His over-lapping runs continue to be an incredible weapon for Bayern, as his crossing from the left hand side presents danger time and time again. Today was just another example of Alaba being much more involved and active when playing on the left instead of the center of defense. With Benatia back to full fitness, a back four Lahm-Kimmich-Benatia-Alaba would likely prove to be much more dangerous vs Juventus next week than the one used in the first leg (Lahm-Kimmich-Alaba-Bernat).

3. Alaba's chemistry with Ribery

The chemistry between Alaba and Ribery is incredible. Early in the first half, the two found themselves trapped near the left side-line surrounded by 3 or 4 Bremen defenders. A series of 5-6 quick passes saw them play out of danger incredibly effectively, eventually playing the ball to Lahm who linked up with Götze to create a great chance for the team. We can only hope that Alaba develops this kind of chemistry with Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman over the next few years, as it really is an incredible weapon to have on the left side.

4. Bayern's shape

For most of the match, Bayern seemingly played a 2-5-3, with Philipp Lahm pushing up to playing as a right sided defensive midfielder/right midfield hybrid, and Alaba playing as a left midfielder, switching with Ribery quite often. While this isn't the first time they've done this, when it's used, it's usually only in short spurts. Today, it was their basic shape for most of the match, mainly because they rarely needed to get into a 4 man back line to stop Bremen's attack.

5. An absolutely dominant display

The final stats were incredibly lopsided. Bremen were outscored 5-0, out-shot 20-2 (!), and out-possessed 83%-17%, although it may as well have been 95%-5%, as it seemed like the only time Bremen had possession of the ball was after they picked it out of their own net. The game could easily have ended 7 or 8 to nil had it not been for some fine saves by Wiedwald, most notably denying Götze in the first half, and Coman in the second half.