Munich (AP) – Julian Nagelsmann wants to let his grumpy Munich stars off the leash.
Before the quarter-final second leg in the Champions League against the surprisingly unruly Villarreal, the FC Bayern coach kept his irritated pack on a short leash for “two or three days”, as he described richly in images.
On Tuesday (9 p.m./Amazon Prime Video) in the Allianz Arena at home in front of 70,000 fans, Thomas Müller & Co. should get the run-out towards the premier class semi-finals with the expected cracker opponent Liverpool FC around Jürgen Klopp.
Lots of detail work
“Now I just have to undo this silver buckle,” announced tamer Nagelsmann after a lot of detailed work and one-on-one talks like on an assembly line. “And then it starts.”
Want? Must? Have to? At first Nagelsmann wasn’t so sure which modal verb actually fits the duel against the supposed Spanish lucky ticket. There is no question that the German soccer record champion is under pressure to act.
Sometimes a “special stimulus, a special pressure” is necessary, said Nagelsmann, “to tease out a special performance.” The 34-year-old referred to the formation of diamonds, which only form “under very high pressure”. “Maybe there will be a brilliant game tomorrow.”
0-1 in the first leg
The first quality criterion for Munich against the Europa League winner is progression. For this Bayern have to catch up a 0:1. Goalscorer Robert Lewandowski has presented himself confidently with the victory sign on the training ground.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first leg. They made one by letting us live and we should punish that,” said Nagelsmann, an unmistakable reaction from his team, who had recently been so mysteriously unstable. He wanted to see more intensity and emotion, and his team should play “a bit more disgustingly”.
National player Niklas Süle will not be there as a hoped-for stabilizer in defense. The 26-year-old is missing because of the flu. Nagelsmann ruled out a mission for Süle at the weekend in the Bundesliga at Arminia Bielefeld.
Hernandez back
But world champion Lucas Hernández is ready for action again. The French defender missed Saturday’s 1-0 win against FC Augsburg with a thigh contusion.
Marcel Sabitzer, praised by Nagelsmann for his 30-minute appearance in the Bundesliga, will not get a place in the starting XI. In the pressure duel, players should start “who have more Bayern identity because they have been there longer.”
The leaders in the team are challenged. From Lewandowski to Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich to Manuel Neuer, of course. “We’re not to be trifled with when we lose a game like that in Villarreal 1-0. Of course that annoys us,” said the goalkeeper and captain of the Munich team. “We want to show our best side.”
Bayern know they can step up when it matters. But on the international stage, does it actually seem to work effortlessly at the push of a button?
Statistics omen?
In recent years, it was always the end when the first leg was lost. After an away defeat in the first leg of a knockout round in the Champions League, Bayern also progressed three times. 2014/15 against FC Porto (1-3, 6-1) in the quarterfinals, 2011/12 against FC Basel (0-1, 7-0) in the round of 16 and 2006/07 against Real Madrid (2-3, 2nd place). :1) also in the round of 16.
The “own will” in the team gives him courage, emphasized Neuer and swears by Mia san Mia when FC Bayern is particularly challenged. “We have characters in the team who have great ambition and aspirations.” Neuer does not recognize problems in the internal climate. “We don’t have a leadership crisis at all, we communicate a lot,” assured the 36-year-old.
They have talked enough at Bayern in the past few days anyway. “I am convinced that we will progress,” said club president Herbert Hainer without frills. After all, a 0-1 draw is a result “that we can definitely fix.”
The expected lineups
FC Bayern Munich: Neuer – Pavard, Upamecano, Hernández, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Musiala, Müller, Coman – Lewandowski
Villarreal FC: Rulli – Foyth, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Estupiñán – Lo Celso, Capoue, Parejo, Coquelin – Gerard Moreno, Danjuma
Referee: Vinčić (Slovenia)