FC Bayern must turn around a 0:1 first leg defeat at FC Villarreal on Tuesday (9pm) to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Based on their form, there are justifiable doubts as to whether they will succeed. Coach Julian Nagelsmann and captain Manuel Neuer are counting on an improvement in performance, the Bayern factor and the Allianz Arena at home.
What is a big club, what is a small one? Matter of definition. And Villarreal FC, as reigning Europa League winners, would certainly be doing injustice to put them in the second category. With all due respect, however, the Spaniards are not heavyweights like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or the big English clubs.
When FC Bayern was eliminated in the last decade, it was always against one of the big names in European football. A failure against Villareal FC would therefore be a rarity, as it last happened in 2008 against Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup.
Upamecano replaces Süle
However, there are still at least 90 minutes to go on Tuesday night and Bayern want to do everything better than they did in the first leg. “Have to is a harsh word, but we should, we want to deliver,” coach Julian Nagelsmann said at Tuesday’s lunchtime press conference. “Sometimes a special stimulus and pressure are needed to tease out special performances,” he said, hoping his eleven would step up. The line-up is set, surprises can be ruled out. Nagelsmann announced that he would trust the players who had experienced such a situation often enough in the Bayern jersey and who carry the identity of this club within them. In concrete terms, this means that Marcel Sabitzer, for example, who was praised by the coach after the 1:0 against Augsburg, will sit out for the time being. Niklas Süle, who is ill with flu, will be absent once again, with Dayot Upamecano replacing him.
Compared to last Wednesday’s 0:1, Nagelsmann is calling for higher intensity and pace of play, with tactical fouls and some nastier football also not frowned upon. “They made the mistake in the first leg of letting us live. But we will not apologise that they did not score more goals,” Nagelsmann looked back again. Bringing intensity and emotionality is the easiest thing to do, the coach wrote to his team, “anyone can do that, regardless of whether they are in a good mood or not. A few German virtues can’t hurt”. Translated, this means: Find your way into the game through the fight.
According to captain Manuel Neuer, the team was more dissatisfied with the performance from the first leg than with the result. “We are happy to have only lost 0:1. It is still in our hands, we want to show that.” The goalkeeper punctuated his words with a little verbal threat towards Villarreal: “We’re not to be trifled with if we lost a game like we did there.” This would have to be proven on Tuesday from 9pm. In 90, maybe 120 minutes or even a penalty shoot-out, Bayern should win by a goal difference under the abolished away goals rule.
