FC Bayern Munich learned from Lothar Matthäus that he “doesn’t need to be afraid” of Erling Haaland in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Following Friday afternoon’s draw, the Bundesliga champions face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the next round of the competition.
They will be faced with the difficult task of immobilizing Norway star Haaland, who has scored 39 goals in 36 games this season, for 180 minutes.
Haaland will be no stranger to the Bavarian side having faced them many times in his Borussia Dortmund days and hopes to score against them again.
However, with Munich fans fearful of the impact Haaland might have on them, German football legend Matthäus has eased concerns about the striker.
Erling Haaland has been in brilliant form for Man City this year, scoring 39 goals so far
Lothar Matthäus asserts that Bayern Haaland need not fear in the quarter-finals
Speaking to Sky Germany, Matthäus claimed that “Manchester City were in a very good mood” going into the tie.
Then he thought about the possible danger that the Norwegian could cause and said: “Haaland played against Bayern more often and scored less. You don’t need to be afraid of him.’
If you look at his numbers at Dortmund, the forward met Bayern Munich seven times and scored five goals in those games.
However, the stats show that out of the seven encounters he has been involved in, Haaland has never won a game against the Bundesliga giants.
Things could be different for the Norwegian this time as he will go into the game full of confidence given his recent performances.
In his final game in the competition, Haaland became just the second player in Champions League history to score five goals in a single game.
Bayern, on the other hand, will also rely on a place in the semifinals after beating PSG 3-0 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Haaland made history after scoring five goals in a game against RB Leipzig this week
It’s been a far from easy season for Julian Nagelsmann’s side, who are in their own title race with Union Berlin, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, and the two sides share a very even history.
Three wins apiece, with City winning the last meeting in 2014-15 to level in the match-up as both teams have three wins to their tally.
It’s also a reunion for Pep Guardiola with the club where he famously failed to win the competition but enjoyed widespread success in all other competitions during his three-year stay at Bayern.
City now face two German sides in back-to-back rounds of the competition after beating RB Leipzig in the preliminary round.
FC Bayern Munich is at the top of the Bundesliga, but was not as dominant as in previous years
