The Pep commandments: how lessons learned at Bayern stymied Liverpool | Jonathan Wilson

Pep Guardiola went back to the basics of Cruyffism at Anfield and in doing so showed new-found flexibility and pragmatism

Eighteen games into Pep Guardiola’s second season as manager of Bayern Munich, his side lost 4-1 at Wolfsburg. It was their first defeat of the campaign and a major surprise, and it made Guardiola stop and reconsider. Had he been overthinking things? Had he got so carried away with his experiments in using his full-backs in possession in effect as old-fashioned wing-halves that he had forgotten the basics? Determined he shouldn’t make the same mistake again, he wrote what he came to refer to as “the bible” on the whiteboard in his office.

It was a very short bible, containing only three key strictures. He would deploy:

Related: Relentless but wonky Mohamed Salah is like a supercar missing a wheel | Barney Ronay

Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Continue reading...