Bayern Munich made the gutsy call to pull the plug on their Julian Nagelsmann experiment, with the club’s sliding performances in the spotlight and a treble on the line. Those treble dreams have now faded to a double, and Bayern — who have been in glistening form in the Champions League this season — nevertheless have a titanic bout against Manchester City to get through next.
All that’s got CEO Oliver Kahn tempering expectations.
“We cannot say we must win the Champions League. Of course we want to win it, but it’s not something you can plan,” Kahn explained on Bild TV after the team’s Der Klassiker win (via @iMiaSanMia). “Now we have an opponent that, in my opinion, is even stronger than Paris. They showed that yesterday against Liverpool, and [Erling] Haaland didn’t even play.”
Indeed, even the best team in the world, firing on all cylinders and having endured zero disruption, would find Guardiola’s City a formidable task.
“Everything can happen in such a tie. It could go to penalties, you can win but you can also lose. You simply cannot make a prediction.”
Those are the options! But Bayern have some reason for confidence. Their new manager Thomas Tuchel, on short notice and with a weaker Chelsea side a few years ago, won the UCL Final over Guardiola’s high-flying City. Could history repeat? Perhaps if Bayern can stay relaxed about it.
Interested in a very in-depth (and potentially depressing) look at Bayern Munich’s upcoming game versus Man City? How will Tuchel line up without a striker? Should Joao Cancelo start? We talk about all that and more in our latest podcast episode. Listen to it below or on Spotify.
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