📣 Nagelsmann on his line up, Goretzka's injury, selecting Sané | OneFootball

Julian Nagelsmann has faced the media on Friday ahead of Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash with VfL Wolfsburg.

Here’s what he had to say.

On how the team will line up

“As a coach, when changing something, there are two things to consider – performance and workload management. There is currently no need for either of these points. There’s no reason to change anything.

“We’ve always made early substitutions in the last couple of games, which is important for the players. I don’t expect to change anything on the lineup Sunday unless something extraordinary happens.”

On not starting Leroy Sané and playing two number 10s

“Of course he’s not satisfied that he doesn’t start. But just like with Matthijs (De Ligt), his competitors are doing very well. Jamal is doing great. Leroy is not someone who gets offended by that. You always need players off the bench who can make the difference too.

“Thomas’ position is very similar to last year. He has a good ability to spot spaces and has understanding with Serge. He can switch between striker and #10. He’s been called the Raumdeuter before, and he’s good at that.”

On facing Niko Kovač

“I don’t have any private contact with him, so I can’t assess him very well. From what I saw, he’s an emotional coach. I wish him every success with Wolfsburg, not necessarily on Sunday, but in the games that will follow.”

On Theo Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano

“Both are very focused and don’t make simple mistakes. They have gained patience with the ball and have better passing quality. A big plus for Upa is that he came back from vacation very fit. Both are currently performing very, very well.”

On taking on defensive teams

“That’s relatively normal against Bayern. This week we trained what it’s like when an opponent defends deeper. We will work on provoking gaps through the structure against deep sitting opponents.

“It’s not so attractive and easy to play against deep opponents. But I don’t think that will be the case on Sunday. Wolfsburg are variable in their approach. I’m confident that it will be an attractive game, Wolfsburg also have high standards

“Wolfsburg have interesting new signings and returnees – Wimmer did very well in Bielefeld. With Guilavogui they got more stability. They have an extremely fast backline, it’s difficult to get through them.”

“They have very good compactness and try to keep the pitch small. I don’t expect them to sit deep the whole game. They will want to get something out of the game. I’m not expecting an open game, but I’m also not expecting a parked bus”

On Sadio Mané

“You can quote Jürgen Klopp’s words: ‘Sadio improved the club & the team from day one’. He is very humble and down-to-earth. He’s already had a lot of success, but he’s a very modest top player who always wants to win. He’s very well received within the team

On Leon Goretzka’s fitness

“He’s running now, it will take a while before he gets back into team training. He gets all the time he needs from me. Of course I would love him to be back again tomorrow. His knee is not reacting at all, the recovery is a bit more positive than we expected”