Pity for Salzburg: Matthäus convinced of Bayern’s reaction – football
Munich (AP) – Record national player Lothar Matthäus expects after FC Bayern’s Bundesliga defeat in Bochum with a clear reaction from Munich in the round of 16 of the Champions League against RB Salzburg.
“I feel sorry for the people of Salzburg. FC Bayern don’t have two defeats in a row. I would be surprised if Bayern didn’t win,” said the 60-year-old in Munich at a press conference for a betting provider (Interwetten). “When Bayern Munich loses a game like in Bochum, there was always a reaction,” said Matthäus, who was once an assistant coach at RB Salzburg.
The defensive weaknesses of the record champions die as a threat to the desired international success in this named Matthew. He specifically criticized the central defenders Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Hernádenez, who were brought together for more than 120 million euros, for whom the “price-performance ratio” has not been right so far. The ex-Salzburger Upamecano, brought from Leipzig, wobbles too often and sometimes even seems like a “foreign body”. He’s been there for seven months now and hasn’t shown enough: “How much time should you give him?”
Hernández ‘more is required’
World champion Hernández also has “deficits”. He fouls too much, is sometimes too slow. “He was the most expensive Bayern player, so more is required,” said Matthäus about Hernández, who signed for 80 million euros from Atlético Madrid in 2019. However, he does not use the word “mistake” when speaking of the two Frenchmen, said Matthäus.
His prediction for the first leg this Wednesday (9 p.m.) in the sold-out Red Bull Arena in Salzburg with 30,000 spectators is 2-0 for Bayern. The 2: 4 in the Bundesliga at VfL Bochum was “a matter of attitude”, believes the 1990 world champion: “When you are nine points ahead, the brother carelessness comes on.”
Matthäus is still firmly convinced of FC Bayern’s tenth championship title in a row. This is also due to the weakness of competitors such as Borussia Dortmund: “The others messed up even more games.”