Hasan Salihamidzic didn’t freeze the smile despite Manchester City’s hammer loss. Before the spectacular reunion with Pep Guardiola, Oliver Kahn sent a clear ad hoc message to the former Munich coach. “Manchester City is an absolute top team, but we are FC Bayern Munich. We have to and we will be ready for this big opponent,” said CEO Kahn after the quarter-final draw on Friday.
“If you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat the best. That’s the challenge – and we’re happy to take it on,” said Kahn. The German soccer record champion remains on the champions’ path due to the big duel in just under four weeks with the title favorites in the soccer premier class. “It’s a small final,” sporting director Salihamidzic emphasized the quality of this knockout summit. “In my opinion, Manchester City is the strongest opponent.”
After the round of 16 showdown against Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, the top selection for striker superstar Erling Haaland on April 11 and 12 in Manchester and a week later at home is probably the toughest opponent from Europe’s elite. “Our fans and football fans around the world can look forward to this duel,” said Kahn.
“We are looking forward to the games”
Two days before the Bundesliga away game at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday (5.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) it got even worse: If Bayern reach the semi-finals, the last big test before the final on June 10th is waiting in Istanbul the winner of the duel between defending champions Real Madrid and Chelsea. Benfica Lisbon against Inter Milan and AC Milan against SSC Napoli are the other and not quite so sonorous duels.
“Our pairing is the best in this quarter-final,” said Salihamidzic, looking forward to the meeting against former Munich coach Guardiola. “We’ll see Pep Guardiola again. We’re looking forward to the games.” Guardiola dominated with Bayern during his formative tenure with two double wins and a total of three national championships from 2013 to 2016 – internationally, however, the crowning glory in the Champions League was missing with three semi-final appearances. One looks forward to the first reunion after a long time, said Thomas Müller. “I’m happy that we have the second leg in Munich.”
The Munich team sent an impressive signal of strength with the two wins against Messi and Mbappé. No less impressive was the city ensemble’s 7-0 lead with five goalscorer Haaland over RB Leipzig. “Erling Haaland is a good striker, one of the best in the world,” said Salihamidzic after former Bayern pro Hamit Altintop and former Dutch star Patrick Kluivert fished the balls out of the draw. Like Munich, Manchester is undefeated in the current competition – but the second in the Premier League table does not have the glorious Bayern record of eight wins in eight games.
In the 21st quarter-finals of record quarter-finalists FC Bayern, there is a first knockout duel against ManCity, against whom they have a balanced record of three wins and three defeats in the group phase. “I like playing against the good guys,” said Salihamizdic. “Our boys are always focused.” First of all, in the last Bundesliga game before the trend-setting classic on April 1 against Borussia Dortmund, the top of the table should be consolidated. “We want to continue where we left off in Leverkusen in the last game,” said Salihamidzic.
Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen meets Union Berlin conqueror Union Saint-Gilloise from Belgium in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Should the factory club reach the semi-finals, the winner of the duel between Feyenoord Rotterdam and AS Roma would be the opponent. Leverkusen is the only German club in the last eight of the Europa League. The quarter-final first leg will take place on April 13th and the second leg on April 20th. The semi-finals are scheduled for May 11th and May 18th. The final will take place in Budapest on May 31st.
#Bayern #meets #Manchester #City #quarterfinals