Adeyemi promises hot second leg
On the night-time bus ride from Salzburg back to Munich, the pros from FC Bayern were able to lean back and relax in their seats after the last-minute goal of their “king”. The 1:1 (0:0) against the young, bold Salzburg Bulls was “not the result and the game we wanted”, as captain Thomas Müller said after the fast-paced 90 minutes of football in the Red Bull Arena, which was packed with 29,520 spectators expressed. But after the defeat, which was averted late, the German champions remain the favorites to reach the quarter-finals before the second leg on March 8th. FCB last missed this in 2018/19 under Niko Kovac.
For once, the man who brought about the redemption was not goalscorer Robert Lewandowski. But the final hero of the “premier class” triumph in Lisbon 2020. Kingsley Coman pointed a chipball from Benjamin Pavard, which Müller had extended with his head, with his left foot into the short corner. It was a salvation after a long unsuccessful run by the Bundesliga leaders against rebellious Salzburg. The fact that the Munich squad (816 million euros) is worth four times as much as that of the “Red Bulls” (204 million euros) was not mentioned for a long time.
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“It was an important goal. I was broken, but you always have to keep going. That worked out well,” said Bayern rescuer Coman. “We wanted to win here, but we only managed to draw. But that’s better than losing. With our fans behind us, we have a lot of confidence in the second leg,” said the Frenchman. The winger exemplified Munich’s rebellion after the break and the deficit caused by Junior Adamu’s RB goal.
The mentality was right this time, unlike the 4-2 blunder in everyday Bundesliga life in Bochum. “Everyone saw that we wanted extremely in the second half,” said coach Julian Nagelsmann. After the flawless group phase with six wins and 22:3 goals, it became clear again that Bayern will not get going in 2022. A title candidate has to show more. “We’re not in a flow right now that we can do it alone. Everyone has to understand that,” said national player and chief critic Joshua Kimmich.
Adeyemi warns FC Bayern: RB Salzburg “ready, greedy, young and lively”
When Salzburg had a double chance through national player Karim Adeyemi and goalscorer Adamu, the 0:2 was even in the air. That would have raised an alarm. For the always dangerous Salzburg top attacker Adeyemi, the 1-1 felt “in the end like a defeat”. But the native of Munich immediately promised a hot dance in three weeks in the Allianz Arena: “We are ready, greedy, young and lively. We are a block on the leg for Bavaria.” Nagelsmann started the journey home on the A8 with a clear realization: “We still have work to do if we are to keep up with Europe’s elite.”
‘It’s a result that we probably would have accepted beforehand without any ifs or buts, but the course of events honestly gives the whole thing a slightly bitter note.’
— FC Red Bull Salzburg (@RedBullSalzburg) February 16, 2022
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