Bayern Munich showed the power of aligning three players on the diagonal with their third goal. Olise gives and goes with Musiala, then lets Musiala’s pass run through his legs to Kane. Kane passes Olise, and then Olise passes back to Kane for the goal.

Because they are aligned on the diagonal, the opposition’s defense has to be wary of both the pass to Musiala and Kane. They can’t put their full focus on one or the other.

Then, when Michael Olise continues his run into the path of the diagonal, Jamal Musiala again has the option to play to either Olise on the run or Kane stationary, knowing Olise will be continuing his run beyond the opposition’s defense.

The beauty of Olise letting the ball run through his legs, dummying the ball, is that it locks those two defenders closest to him in place. They are stuck in confusion following the ball. They expected him to take that first touch, but he didn’t; he let it run through. Now they are stuck ball-watching while Olise continues his run.

Kane’s pass was played behind Olise’s run, so he had to cut back rather than shoot. When the opposition defenders closest to Olise recover, they overcommit to blocking the shot, and then it is as simple as rolling it back to Kane at the top of the box.

A lot of this is spontaneous from all three forwards, but these are natural actions for highly creative players. The key is aligning on that diagonal to allow for this to occur.

Match: Werder Bremen 0-5 Bayern Munich, 21 September 2024