Clarity for the biggest challenge

A game against Bayern will follow another in this case. After the “special victory”, as Christian Streich put the quarterfinal win in the DFB-Pokal at the Allianz Arena, comes the Bundesliga match against the league leaders from Munich. “The team did a lot of things really well,” said Streich, who was pleased that the luck, which is almost always needed against Bayern, was on his team’s side this time.

You could watch the goals from Tuesday over and over again, firstly the skillful, precise volley from Nicolas Höfler to equalise. “Chicco’s finish was pure quality,” said his coach. Then came the bold but perfectly placed penalty from Lucas Höler to make it 2-1, which was the final score. The defensive work that the team put in throughout the game was at least as important, however. “We have to defend everything,” Streich demanded before the cup match. The team did just that.

Clarity and a bit of joy

For the home game against FCB, the 58-year-old now wants the team to go onto the pitch with “a certain amount of confidence.” But it’s also important to him that “we have to know the task we will be facing both mentally and physically. We can’t be too overjoyed, we have to be clear and we want to put in a great performance.”

However, Streich’s focus is now only on the league game on Saturday: “It’s not the biggest game for us because the expectations against such an opponent are lower.” This also applies after the win in the DFB-Pokal. Nevertheless, the team should remember the things they did so well in Munich. This includes full concentration: “Every player has to get into his zone and focus fully. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted. The game is the biggest challenge for us again, three days after we had the biggest challenge.”

Bayern without Upamencano

Bayern were forced to take the cup exit. “Of course it’s a big disappointment,” said head coach Thomas Tuchel, while Thomas Müller said, “It’s hard to take and hurts our pride. Nevertheless, Streich does not want to speak about anger in the FCB camp. “The anger has passed. I think that Bayern will simply want to win the league game.” Centre-back Dayot Upamecano will be absent for the game due to a yellow card suspension.

For SCF, Philipp Lienhart and Lukas Kübler, who have been out recently, were training with the team again, so they are options for the sold-out home game at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Photo: SC Freiburg