For this Bayern star, the top-class Munich Champions League test is even more difficult than for everyone else: Dayot Upamecano.
After the devastating 0: 3 in the quarter-final first leg at Manchester City, the Frenchman not only has to deal with super striker Erling Haaland again, but also with himself. Because a mistake like the one before the 0: 2 a week ago has to be made shake off even a highly paid football star and World Cup finalist and leave it behind.
“He knows he has to improve. But after a game like that, it doesn’t make sense to point the finger at him and blame him for it,” said coach Thomas Tuchel on the eve of the second leg in the evening (9 p.m. / DAZN). “We help the players. At that level we were just brutally punished.”
The team and coach stand by Upa
The 24-year-old Upamecano had lost the ball to Jack Grealish in Manchester before conceding the second goal. Haaland then prepared the goal. After that, the Munich team wobbled, especially Upamecano. Haaland himself increased to make it 3-0. “I don’t think the duel with Erling Haaland was the problem, but the decision Dayot made, the risk he took,” analyzed Tuchel.
“But we have every confidence in him. We’ve already shown that in the Bundesliga,” said Tuchel, referring to Upamecano’s commitment in the 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim. “We stand by him. He’s young and has great potential. And it’s the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Man City. This is the moment when you can’t make mistakes. We continue to trust him completely,” said Tuchel.
Haaland has already scored eleven goals this season. Cristiano Ronaldo’s record (17 goals in the 2013/14 season) is still some way off, but not out of reach. “He’s a great player, he shows that every weekend. He’s one of the best nines in the world,” said Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard. “But we can’t just focus on him, there are other good players too. It’s going to be a big game.”
