The Champions League final will take place in the Munich Arena on May 31st, at least that’s what it says in the official UEFA calendar. If you believe Joao Palhinha, FC Bayern will have to go to the final in the same competition tomorrow, Wednesday: “It’s a final. It’s a final for us,” said the Portuguese before the duel against Benfica (Wednesday, June 6th). . November, live in the radio report from 9 p.m.), which is of course not the official final for the Henkel pot, but a boring preliminary round game.
23rd place in the Champions League: FC Bayern under pressure
The fact that there will be a lot of pressure on the big favorites from Munich in this encounter is due to the defeats that the Munich team suffered recently in the premier class and the resulting table situation. 23rd place in the new Champions League format, only the better goal difference separates the German record champions from 25th place, which would mean immediate elimination from the largest European competition after eight match days.
Vincent Kompany sees the situation a little more relaxed and reported what the computer models had calculated for him: “We have to win six games to be in the top eight. That’s the only thing I know. If you win three games, then “You’re qualified. We still have five games, so it’s clear what we have to do,” explained Kompany and added with a grin: “By that I don’t mean we only want to win three games.”
Kompany: “We have to win tomorrow”
No, the task for tomorrow is: three points against the Portuguese record champions. “We have to win against Benfica tomorrow, that’s our only goal,” explained Kompany. These would be important in order to improve the table situation in the Champions League and keep the chance of the top eight places alive, which will allow you to avoid the play-off games. But also to bring a little calm to FC Bayern, which has been lost since the defeats against Aston Villa and FC Barcelona.
Kompany’s offensive style of play was repeatedly questioned. Munich’s susceptibility to counterattacks was particularly highlighted again and again. This is exactly what could become a problem again against Benfica. Above all because FC Bayern is dealing with Ángel Di María. A player who is getting on in years (36), but still knows how to play exactly the balls into the defense interfaces that can do so much damage to Munich when they move backwards.
Palhinha on tactics: “I want to press exactly like that”
Despite this danger, Palhinha promotes his head coach’s style of play: “A team like Bayern always has to apply pressure. That involves some risks, but we have gotten better,” he said, referring to the defeat against Barcelona. “As a player, that’s exactly how I want to press – and as a team we have the players to play exactly like that.”
Kompany: “Every game is a final”
Kompany also sees little reason to play more cautiously against Benfica: “What we did helped us win a lot of games and score 50 goals. It wasn’t always perfect. But we have a lot of confidence in our style of play,” says Kompany , who also knows that another defeat on Wednesday would make the situation at FC Bayern quite uncomfortable.
Is it still an endgame? Kompany, who has played at the highest level for years as a player and has experienced enough of such situations, grins his relaxed grin. “Every game is like a final. That’s how it’s always been for me in my career.” But the final, which will be played on May 31st in the Munich Arena, is even more of a final than all the other finals that FC Bayern now have to face if they want to reach the six-win mark. A win against Benfica would be a good start to achieving this.
