Bayern Munich: Leon Goretzka relishing challenging games against Manchester City
The next couple of weeks is going to be pivotal for Bayern Munich. After making a coaching change during the international break, Bayern chiefs will hope to see a marked difference in the performances of the team.
First up for Bayern is Der Klassiker at Allianz Arena on Saturday. It is a crucial game in the title race, as Die Roten is trailing Borussia Dortmund by a point. The record Bundesliga champions need to win this game to regain the top spot in the points table. Dortmund has been in fine form during Ruckrunde, so it is going to be a challenging game.
After the Bundesliga clash against Dortmund, the team’s focus will turn to the DFB Pokal quarter-finals against Freiburg. Bayern has struggled in DFB Pokal in the past couple of seasons, so they must go all the way this season and bring the trophy back to Allianz Arena.
The biggest challenge for Bayern in the next few weeks is the two games against Manchester City in the Champions League. While talking to SportBild this week, Leon Goretzka admitted that games against Man City are worthy of a final. He is relishing the challenge against Pep Guardiola’s team.
"“City is the toughest draw that we could’ve gotten. I think City think the same about us. It would have been a nice final. Now we’re playing in the quarterfinal. FC Bayern will be ready.”"
It will be special two games as Pep Guardiola will be facing Bayern in competitive games for the first time since living in Bavaria in 2016. The Spaniard has made Manchester City a winning machine in the Premier League, but they failed to get over the line in the Champions League under him.
Bayern should expect an intense 180 minutes against Man City. They play an attractive brand of football by dominating possession. Die Roten will have to maintain concentration while defending against them and show great efficiency in the final third.
The record Bundesliga champions delivered great performances against PSG in the round of 16. They made sure that the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were kept quiet across two legs by keeping clean sheets in Paris and Munich. Die Roten will need an even better performance to keep Man City’s forwards quiet in the quarter-final.
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The first leg against Manchester City will take place at Etihad Stadium on April 11. A clean sheet at Etihad should be on the agenda for Die Roten to make sure that everything is left to play for Allianz Arena on April 19. Tuchel will look to build momentum in the upcoming Bundesliga and DFB Pokal games before traveling to Manchester.