After thwarting Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland, Bayern Munich’s new centre-back pairing Niklas Suele and Dayot Upamecano can help the defending champion claim its first Bundesliga win this season at home to Cologne on Sunday. The pressure was on Suele and Upamecano to forge a partnership after the departures of double Champions League winners Jerome Boateng and David Alaba.
Having wobbled on occasion in last Friday’s 1-1 draw at Monchengladbach, the duo earned praise from Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann after victory at Dortmund in the German Super Cup. “We defended very well and were very aggressive. Niki and ‘Upa’ were very stable in the back four,” said Nagelsmann.
