Chelsea always defend free-kick crosses with a predictable offside trap. Bayern Munich exposed it by baiting the trap, keeping all their attackers offside, and then they crossed to an onside man free at the back post.

Strangely, Chelsea left Serge Gnabry unmarked on the far side. He will be the target for the cross in this set-piece routine.

When Joshua Kimmich starts his move forward to “kick the ball,” Chelsea initiates the offside trap immediately in unison. The defenders have to fully commit to the offside trap. If one player deviates from it, they risk keeping an attacker onside. There’s no time for them to react or communicate a change on the fly.

But Kimmich doesn’t kick the ball. He rolls it short to Michael Olise, which allows Olise to dribble towards the box. Then Kimmich continues his run forward to make Cole Palmer hesitate as he chooses between following him or Olise, which gives Olise more room to cross.

Meanwhile, in the box, the Chelsea defense has pushed forward in unison to the edge of the penalty box once Kimmich touches the ball. All the Bayern Munich attackers ignore that movement and stay in an offside position.

Serge Gnabry’s job on the far post is to stay onside and get on the end of the cross from Olise. Once the cross falls to Gnabry, all he has to do is head it or pass it square on to an attacker in the box. A simple pass to make, which will lead to a simple tap-in for the attacker.

All of Bayern Munich’s attackers inside the box will be unmarked because the Chelsea players are five yards away from them. They will be onside because they will make sure they stay behind Gnabry before he squares the ball to them.

While other teams have attempted to beat this predictable offside trap from Chelsea, this was the most effective and promising counter to their trap that I’ve watched live. Bayern Munich’s execution fell short, however, as Michael Olise’s cross was not accurate and Serge Gnabry mistimed his run, straying offside.