THE GERMAN MEDIA generally agreed it was a below-par performance from Bayern last night, while also focusing heavily on the Bastian Schweinsteiger red card.
Bild highlights The Sun’s brazen description of the player as a ‘Schwein’ or ‘pig’. They also assert that without the star midfielder, Man United have a “small chance” in the return leg.
They also express concern owing to the absences of Javi Martinez and Thiago, suggesting inexperienced 18-year-old midfielder Pierre Højbjerg may be needed and doubting whether he is “up to the task” of playing in a Champions League quarter-final at this early stage in his career.
Meanwhile, Der Spiegel rather harshly brands Bayern as “failures”.
The paper also makes reference to the club’s missing midfield trio, while suggesting that considerable responsibility in the second leg now falls on the shoulders of Toni Kroos — a man once linked with a move to United.
They suggest there is currently a degree of tension between Kroos and Guardiola, with a “cool” mood established between the duo.
It adds that Guardiola must build the team around Kroos and Philippe Lahm in the second leg, asserting that they have “almost no choice” but to adopt this strategy.
What also stands out is how consistently interested they are in statistics such as players who completed the most passes and the type of system and tactics each team employed.
Zeit Online criticises Bayern for offering “no goal threat” in the early stages, despite enjoying almost 80% of possession.
They point out that United were “constantly on the defensive,” while also suggesting that the Red Devils improved offensively after Shinji Kagawa replaced Ryan Giggs at half-time.
They also write a rather scathing assessment of Wayne Rooney. While asserting that he is United’s main man, they also suggest that Rooney, over the course of his career, has at times looked as if he has “no desire for the game,” adding that his mentality and physical condition were “always reasons for disappointment”. As if that weren’t bad enough, his lucrative new contract renders him “obviously greedy”.
And finally, Bundesliga 365 may be feeling a tad red-faced this morning — in the lead up to last night’s big game, they somewhat cockily asked: “How many goals Bayern Munich will win both legs by?”
