BERLIN: When Erling Haaland steps on to the field for Manchester City on Wednesday in Munich, the Norwegian will face the club who tried to sell the farm to buy him but failed.
Bayern’s late first-leg capitulation in Manchester means the six-time winners need to overcome a 3-0 deficit to make it through to the semis.
Not only must Bayern do so against Europe’s form team, but they need to somehow find the goals that the toothless front-line have lacked in 2023.
In the first leg, the brutally efficient Haaland showed what Bayern were missing up front, setting up a goal and then scoring another to put City on course for the semi-finals.
Despite a history of scoring against Bayern – Haaland has six goals and two assists in eight games against the Bavarians – Tuesday’s 3-0 victory was the striker’s first win against the German champions.
Since moving to City, Haaland has been spectacular, smashing records on the way to scoring 47 goals in 40 appearances.
Bayern’s ambitions of winning the Champions League were certainly dashed by Haaland’s flurry, but the seeds of their problems were already there when the German champions attempted and failed to sign the Norwegian late in the previous year.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was not alone in his desire to sign Haaland, but his open courting of the Norwegian put noses out of joint, particularly that of star striker Robert Lewandowski.
In 2021, a clip emerged of Salihamidzic on the sidelines of a Bayern-Dortmund clash, speaking with an assistant coach after Haaland scored twice in seven minutes.
“How good is Haaland? He’s a machine. I’ll call his agent tomorrow.”
Bayern were willing to tear up their carefully constructed salary structure to sign the Norwegian in the summer of 2022.
Lewandowski’s camp said the striker felt slighted by the German club’s failure to offer him a longer-term deal, with Bayern seemingly distracted by their pursuit of Haaland.
Lewandowski had scored more than 40 goals for Bayern in seven straight seasons, scoring a remarkable 344 goals in 375 appearances. Ultimately, Bayern’s wandering eye cost them both Haaland and Lewandowski.
After Lewandowski’s signed with Barcelona, then Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann sought to spread the Poland striker’s goals across a dynamic front line.
While the approach had immediate effect – Bayern scored 26 goals in their first six competitive matches in 2022-23 – the goals dried up.
Nagelsmann reverted to backup central striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who again gave Bayern a focal point as the ‘Stoke City reject’ produced the best form of his career to score 17 in 28 matches.
Choupo-Moting however looks set to miss Wednesday’s encounter with back problems.
