Champions League
Bayern without Müller and with Choupo-Moting against Man City
Starts second leg against Manchester City: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
FC Bayern Munich will start the premier class second leg against Manchester City without captain Thomas Müller. A 0:3 has to be caught up.
In the Champions League game against Manchester City, coach Thomas Tuchel once again dispensed with Thomas Müller in the starting lineup. The 33-year-old captain is sitting on the substitutes’ bench, just like he did in the 3-0 loss in the first leg of the quarter-finals in England a week ago.
“I have the feeling that it’s not a Thomas Müller game,” said Tuchel, explaining his decision. He expects the same game as a week ago. “It’s a characteristic of the game that isn’t tailor-made for Thomas. He’s absolutely world class in the last 25 meters. (…) I think we’ll get that, if only at the end.”
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, on the other hand, plays as a center forward after his knee problems. The 34-year-old replaces Serge Gnabry in attack compared to the first leg. The second change in the Bayern team concerns the defence: Portuguese Joao Cancelo, loaned from Man City, comes into the team for Alphonso Davies.
Bayern have to score at least three goals in the sold-out Allianz Arena to possibly reach the semi-finals against defending champions Real Madrid. On his return to his former place of work in Munich, city coach Pep Guardiola offers exactly the same formation around top scorer Erling Haaland that also started with the clear first-leg success in Manchester.
