Before the third group game in the Champions League against Galatasaray, FC Bayern are plagued by personnel problems. Former Munich player Mario Basler is therefore sounding the alarm.
Dayot Upamecano, Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro were missing from the final training session on Monday morning. Captain Manuel Neuer and Serge Gnabry practiced with us, but their seats were also empty when the charter plane landed in Istanbul in the evening.
At least Noussair Mazraoui was on board, whose muscular problems are over – unlike the anger surrounding his pro-Palestine post.
Nevertheless, it is currently becoming abundantly clear what was already warned about in the summer: FC Bayern’s squad for 2023/2024 is not particularly large.
“Bayern doesn’t have a big squad. They already had problems with the players at the weekend. The squad is thin,” Mario Basler put his finger in the wound in his podcast “Basler ballert”.
In fact: Coach Thomas Tuchel only had two goalkeepers and 16 field players in the machine, including the two youngsters Frans Krätzig and Aleksandar Pavlovic.
FC Bayern: Opponent Galatasaray also has concerns
Basler warned FC Bayern not to underestimate their upcoming opponents. “It will be an exciting game against Galatasaray. The house will burn in Turkey,” the 54-year-old explained.
Galatasaray is still unbeaten in the SüperLig, but also has worries: striker Mauro Icardi, whom Tuchel once trained at PSG, injured his ankle in the derby against Besiktas (2-1) and will probably be out.
This is also why Basler believes that the German industry leader will ultimately prevail in the cauldron. “It shouldn’t be a major problem for FC Bayern,” said the former international.
So far, the star ensemble from Säbener Straße has not dropped any points in its Champions League group: there were narrow victories against Manchester United (4:3) and FC Copenhagen (2:1).