Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac is confident that his team will clinch the 2018-19 Bundesliga title against his former club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bundesliga fans have witnessed an exciting title race this season, and it’s quite fitting the race will come to its conclusion on the final day of the season after the results of Saturday’s key games. Bayern Munich still remain favorites to win the title, as they need only one point from their final match against Eintracht Frankfurt to retain the Masterschale.
Die Roten missed out on the opportunity to be crowned Bundesliga champions in the penultimate game of the season this past weekend. The Bavarians were held for a goalless draw by a defensively strong RB Leipzig side at Red Bull Arena on Saturday. Dortmund’s narrow win over Fortuna Dusseldorf confirmed that the winner will be decided on the final day.
Niko Kovac was not entirely disappointed with his side’s performance as he heaped praise on RB Leipzig for their defensive solidity. Speaking to the media after the game (via Goal), Kovac backed his players to get the job done on the final day of the season. He further added that the game against Frankfurt will be tough as the visitors also desperately need a win to have a chance to play in Europe next season.
"“We have the chance to become champions next week with a point or a victory. Life writes the best stories. I can play against my old club and can try to win the championship.“Although, I know Frankfurt have goals in them and they also want to enter European competition, not only in the Europa League but also in the Champions League. It won’t be easy.”"
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
- Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
- Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl
The Croatian manager refused to criticize VAR’s decision to rule out Leon Goretzka’s goal against Leipzig. Kovac believes that technology is needed to rectify decisions but that there is still a huge scope of improvement in the implementation of VAR.
The Croatian has endured a strange debut season at Bayern Munich. He can still end up with three trophies by the end of this month, but doubts still linger over his future at the club.
Noises in the German media have become louder and louder since Bayern’s exit from the Champions League against Liverpool in March. The Merseyside club is currently superior to Die Roten, but Bayern’s performance and approach to the second leg at the Allianz Arena has attracted a lot of criticism towards Kovac’s methods.
Bayern have shown great signs of improvement under Kovac in the second half of the season and have dropped points only three times in the league since the winter break. Their impressive run of results eventually helped Bayern to overtake Dortmund in the league table, but the former Frankfurt manager will likely have to win both the DFB Pokal and Bundesliga to stay in his job.
Kovac deserves time at Bayern as he wasn’t allowed to make a number of changes to the squad in the last two transfer windows. This summer Bayern will replace many veteran players with young, promising talent. Kovac will have to deliver good results and convincing performances together next season. First, however, a win over his former club next weekend will give Kovac some breathing space after a draining first season in Bavaria.