Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann had the flu on Wednesday and was therefore not on the bench during the Champions League match with Benfica. He stayed behind in his hotel room and left the coaching along the line to his assistant Dino Toppmöller. From his hotel room, Nagelsmann still played an important role and led his team with a conversion to a 0-4 victory.
Toppmöller said afterwards that he was in constant contact with Nagelsmann. In the second half, the head coach telephoned his assistant to substitute Benjamin Pavard for Serge Gnabry. It turned out not to be a golden move. Gnabry came in the lines in the 66th minute at a 0-0 score and less than four minutes later Leroy Sané signed for the opening goal. Moments later, Gnabry was involved in Everton’s own goal, after which Robert Lewandowski and Sané determined the final score.
“Julian feels very ill, but there is nothing wrong with his head,” Toppmöller said at the press conference. “That was a great idea from him. With Serge, we became much more dangerous. It was a brave decision. Well done, Julian,” said the assistant coach, who emphasized that it was Nagelsmann who made the conversion: “It was Julian who decided on the substitutions, you have to leave that to the head coach.”
After three group matches, Bayern are in excellent shape in the group stage of the Champions League. The German superpower opened strongly with a 0-3 victory over Barcelona, after which Dynamo Kiev was defeated 5-0. After the 0-4 win in Lisbon, Bayern comes to nine points and a goal difference of plus twelve, and qualification for the eighth finals is within reach.