Salzburg (DPA)
Bayern Munich knows that its prestige will be at stake if it loses to Red Bull Salzburg tomorrow, Wednesday, in the first leg of the 16th round of the European Champions League, especially as it will be the second loss in a row after the loss against Bochum in the league.
The match against Bochum, which Bayern Munich lost 4-2, witnessed the worst performance of the team under the leadership of coach Julian Nagelsmann, after the 5-0 loss to Borussia Moenchengladbach in the German Cup last October.
However, Bayern Munich is still top of the German League “Bundesliga” and one of the favorites to win the Champions League title.
“Our self-image is already damaged, but if we lose, our prestige will also be damaged,” Thomas Muller, captain of the team in the absence of injured Manuel Neuer, said at a press conference. The match in Salzburg is scheduled to be full in terms of fans, after selling 30,000 tickets, after a change in the rules of the Corona virus.
“We are very excited about the game,” said Muller, who won the Champions League in 2013 and 2020. We don’t close our eyes, say it’s just an accident and let’s move on.”
“Now comes the beginning of a very important stage,” he added.
Bayern beat Salzburg 3-2 in Austria, and 3-1 in Germany in the group stage last season.
Coach Nagelsmann said he would not change his way of preparing the team after the defeat to Bochum.
“I will not change my approach,” said Nagelsmann, 34. Most of the time we are able to score more goals than we concede. The funny thing about football is that these conversations only appear after defeats.”
Bayern Munich won its six matches in the group stage, but injuries began to harm the team, as the team misses Leon Goretzka, Alfonso Davies, Jamal Musila and Neuer.