Bayern Munich, with one eye fixed firmly on the UEFA Super Cup game against Chelsea on Friday, made wholesale changes to the squad that beat FC Nurnberg over the weekend, but could only manage a1-1 draw away to Frieburg on Tuesday night. Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mario Mandzukic, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba joined Phillipp Lahm on thebench, with Rafinha, Daniel van Buyten, Claudio Pizarro, Diego Contento, Toni Kroos, Thomas Mueller and Xherdan Shaqiri coming in.
After the game,captain Lahm said, “The team selection is definitely not a valid excuse [for the dropped points]. The players who started the match today are all quality players. We’ve been missing that littlesomething in the last few games and today we were punished for it.”
Even so, coach Pep Guardiola preferred to look at the positives ahead of the big game against Chelsea. “Iam the coach,” he said. “It’s my responsibility to pick the team. I don’ know what might have happened if Robben and Ribery were playing. We played very well. Our game took another step forward.That’s what matters.”