29th matchday marred FCB celebrations in front of Arsenal: Coman’s exit “makes you sad”
Raphaël Guerreiro (l) gave Bayern the lead with a wonderful long-range shot. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
Before the quarter-final second leg against Arsenal, the Munich team fulfilled their league obligation again after two defeats. Guerreiro celebrates after an artificial shot. An injury thwarts Tuchel’s plans.
Before the impending replacement as German football champions, the Bayern stars focused entirely on the last big goal of the season and jumped in front of their fans. “European Cup, European Cup,” chanted the supporters after Munich’s successful warm-up to the quarter-final second leg against Arsenal.
Even without the commands of coach Thomas Tuchel, who was suspended after four yellow cards, the Munich footballers once again fulfilled their everyday duties in the 2-0 (0-0) win against 1. FC Cologne after two recent league defeats. “We have the result, that we needed and wanted,” summarized Tuchel. Now we can prepare for Arsenal “without any further disruption.”
The victory in the 100th league duel between the two traditional clubs was marred by the retirement of offensive player Kingsley Coman. The Frenchman was injured shortly after the break without any influence from the opposition. He was taken out of the arena with the support of two supervisors.
Like Gnabry, Coman will be missing against Arsenal
“The big downer is Kingsley’s injury,” said Tuchel. “This makes me very sad. I know how hard he worked and how important he is.” Coman was just getting back into rhythm after a long period of downtime.
Like Serge Gnabry, the Frenchman will miss the second leg against the Gunners on Wednesday after his torn muscle fiber. On the other hand, captain Manuel Neuer, with whom FC Bayern did not want to take any risks after the recent injuries, and Leroy Sané, who has pubic bone problems, should return to the team. Neuer could have played against Cologne if necessary, said Tuchel. “With Leroy it’s written in the stars.”
In order to reach the semi-finals against Manchester City or Real Madrid in the premier class after the 2-2 draw in the first leg, Harry Kane and Co. should make better use of their scoring opportunities against the team around national player Kai Havertz than against Cologne. And offer fewer gaps in defense. “Now we have to throw everything into the balance on Wednesday and find solutions,” said Tuchel. Because of the new personnel concerns, his offensive simulation games have become more difficult.
“A win before a second leg like this is always important”
In his VIP box against Cologne, the 50-year-old was pleased to see Raphaël Guerreiro (65th minute) with a wonderful long-range shot and Thomas Müller (90th+3), who was very unfortunate for a long time, score the goals in front of 75,000 spectators. “A win before a second leg like this is always important,” said defender Eric Dier.
The day before Leverkusen’s likely title party, the record champions, who had changed seven positions around the hapless Kane, missed too many good chances in the first half. Cologne also had opportunities to take the lead – or later equalize.
“If you want to gain something against a team like that, you have to take advantage of every little opportunity,” said coach Timo Schultz. His worn-out players were also broken. “Ultimately it’s about scoring goals,” complained Max Finkgräfe.
Guerreiro took on the role of goalscorer particularly well. Joshua Kimmich passed the ball back to the Portuguese at a corner, who circled the ball into the far corner with his fine left foot. The Portuguese received an extra-strong pat on the back from mascot Berni while jumping in front of the fans.
dpa
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