After FC Bayern had regained the lead from BVB thanks to a 4-2 demonstration of power against Borussia Dortmund on the last Bundesliga matchday, it seemed as if the change of coach from Julian Nagelsmann to Thomas Tuchel would pay off – then the end followed in the DFB Cup (1:2 against SC Freiburg). For an ex-keeper of the Munich bankruptcy at the wrong time.
“The end of the DFB Cup against SC Freiburg was a major setback for FC Bayern. The unrest is increasing – of all things before the quarter-final first leg in the Champions League at Manchester City on Tuesday,” said Belgian Jean-Marie Pfaff his column for the “Abendzeitung”. The Bavarians are back “landed on the ground of reality”.
Pfaff, who guarded the Munich goal in 156 competitive games between 1982 and 1988, places the blame for the surprising bankruptcy in Breisgau, but not with new coach Tuchel, rather “the team is responsible”.
After Bayern again face SC Freiburg, this time in the Bundesliga, on Saturday (3:30 p.m.), the round of eight in the premier class is on the agenda for Tuesday. In the first leg, the German record champions are guests in Manchester, which should have absolute world stars on the offensive in Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
FC Bayern has to take this city star out of the game
According to Pfaff, “probably the most important game of the season so far”. “After leaving the cup, these games have become even more important. If Bayern don’t make it to the semi-finals against City either, the unrest in the area will increase,” the 69-year-old speculates.
In order to reach the semi-finals, Bayern would need “two absolute cream days”, said Pfaff, who warned above all about his compatriot de Bruyne. This is “thinker and leader in the game of the English – and enormously dangerous”.
