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Bayern Munich defender Matthijs De Ligt has revealed how he and his fellow defenders plan to stop the lethal threat of Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker comes up against Bayern in the Champions League this evening as Man City host the German giants in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Haaland currently tops the scoring charts with a phenomenal 10 goals, with the striker sitting on 44 goals in all competitions this season.
Bayern Munich preparing for Haaland
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Bayern Munich will, of course, have to deal with several other Man City stars across the two legs.
Such stars include Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan. Julian Alvarez meanwhile has proven to be a more than capable replacement for Haaland, while Jack Grealish is finally reaching the heights that many expect of him.
De Ligt is very wary of the threats, particularly that of the phenomenal Haaland.
“Haaland is one of the best strikers worldwide and is in great shape,” said De Ligt, as quoted by the Man City website. “He is good inside the box but also outside of it. What matters is we organise our defence well because Haaland is an incredible player.
“But without a good cross or pass from De Bruyne, it will be hard for him as well so our entire team needs to be in top form to stop Haaland.”
Man City the ‘strongest’ team yet
Bayern Munich have been going very strong in this season’s Champions League, with the Germans winning all six of their group matches.
They scored 18 times from those six games, conceding just twice, in what was supposed to be a very tricky group alongside Inter, Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen.
They then eased past Ligue 1 outfit PSG in the round of 16, winning 1-0 away and 2-0 at home to secure an ultimately easy passage to the next round.
And while Bayern have faced many tough teams in the competition so far, De Ligt is expecting the toughest test yet against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“Out of all the teams [we have faced], Manchester City is the strongest because over the last five years they have won the Premier League four times and now they have Erling Haaland who is a big threat that requires top concentration because they are so strong,” he added.
“There are a lot of good teams left. If you look at the quality, Manchester City is one of the strongest teams in the world. It’s going to be an amazing game, they have an amazing team and an amazing trainer and every year they have a chance of winning the Champions League.”
Bayern Munich in transition
Man City may just have an added bit of confidence going into the game, with Bayern Munich only recently sacking manager Julian Nagelsmann amid reports of discontent behind the scenes.
And those reports may ring true, given the fact that Bayern Munich were going so strong in both the league and Champions League under Nagelsmann.
Ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is now in the dugout, with the manager keen to start his Champions League journey with Bayern Munich in the strongest way possible.
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