UCL: I Won’t Change My Attacking Philosophy, Naglesmann Speaks Ahead Bayern Munich Vs Salzburg

Bayern Munich coach, Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed that will not change their attacking approach when they visit RB Salzburg in tonight’s Champions League last-16 game despite their shock league defeat by VFL Bochum.

For the 19th successive season, Bayern Munich have reached the knockout rounds of the Champions League, after completing the group stage with a 100% record, a feat only two other teams can match in this season’s competition.

Victories home and away against Barcelona, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev saw the Bavarian outfit breeze into the last 16 as Group E winners, scoring 22 goals and conceding just three.

While their Champions League form has been impeccable, Bayern have suffered a slight blip in the Bundesliga recently, losing two of their last five matches, including a surprise 4-2 beating by Bochum last weekend.

“My philosophy, my approach, I’m not going to change that,” Bayern coach Nagelsmann told a news conference on Tuesday. “There’s a certain structure in our squad, even though there are some players missing.

“The funny thing about football is that these discussions only come up when you’re losing. In our win over RB Leipzig, we had one less defender than we did in the defeat to Bochum, but somehow everyone said we were too offensive against Bochum.

“In the end, it’s all about the way you play, not the system. I’m not going to change my approach based on what the media writes about us.”

Wednesday’s Champions League encounter will be the fourth time Bayern Munich face an Austrian team in the knockout stages of a European competition. In each of their last three two-legged ties, they have progressed to the next round, beating Rapid Wien in the 1966-67 Cup Winners’ Cup and Austria Wien in successive European Cup campaigns in 1985-86 and 1986-87.

Red Bull Salzburg qualified for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 by finishing as runners-up in Group G behind LOSC Lille.