Bayern coach hinted that stopping Haaland was harder than Mbappe
According to the draw results on March 17, Bayern will meet Man City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. This is the first time the two teams have met in the continental knockout round. All six previous meetings between the two teams have taken place in the group stage of the Champions League, with Bayern winning three, losing three, scoring 10 and conceding nine goals.
A few hours later, at the press conference before the match against Leverkusen in the 25th round of the Bundesliga, Nagelsmann said that he and his assistants had watched the draw ceremony live at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. According to the German coach, Bayern was unlucky with the draws, when it fell into the group of death with Barca, Inter, and then met PSG in the 1/8 round. If they overcome Man City, the "Gray Lobster" will meet the winner of the Chelsea - Real Madrid pair.
But Nagelsmann is excited to be competing against the biggest opponents. "We want to win the championship by beating the big clubs. If Bayern win this year, no one will be able to say we are lucky," the German coach emphasized.
Despite facing strong opponents, Bayern still maintained a winning streak from the beginning of the 2022-2023 Champions League season. In the 1/8 round, they beat PSG 1-0 at Parc des Princes and then won 2-0 in the second leg at home. In the group stage, Bayern won all six matches against Barca, Inter and Viktoria Plzen.
Nagelsmann likened Bayern's path to the final at Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on June 10 to defending champion Real Madrid - the club won PSG, Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool respectively in the championship journey last season. "Real went through a similar difficult path last year," said the 35-year-old coach. "This draw gives me a lot of energy and anticipation. We will prepare well and can't wait to meet Man City."
Nagelsmann revealed watching and analyzing many of Pep Guardiola's matches at Barca, Man City and even Bayern, but denied copying the style of his Spaniard. According to Nagelsmann, the clubs under Guardiola have always played very interestingly with attacking football and controlling many balls.
After dealing with Mbappe - the superstar of PSG, Bayern now have to face Haaland - who has just destroyed a series of Champions Laegue records when he scored five goals in the 7-0 win over Leipzig in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round. Nagelsmann admitted to admiring Haaland and Man City's stars. "Haaland is a special player," he said. "He is very strong in speed and physicality, even stronger than Mbappe. Man City also has many other good players, but so does Bayern."
Last season, Bayern stopped in the quarterfinals when losing to Villarreal with a total score of 1-2. "Gray Lobster" lost 0-1 away and only drew 1-1 in the second leg in Germany. This result put Nagelsmann under a lot of pressure. "We want to go further this year. Therefore, we want to win both matches against Man City," the German coach determined.
CEO Oliver Kahn shares Nagelsmann's opinion that Bayern "must beat the strongest opponents to win the title". Meanwhile, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and striker Thomas Muller see Bayern "being able to play the second leg at home as an advantage".
The first leg between Bayern and Man City will take place at the Etihad on April 11, and the second leg will take place at the Allianz Stadium a week later.
