Upamecano dropped for Bayern's clash with Salzburg

Salzburg (Austria) (AFP) – French defender Dayot Upamecano was dropped to the bench for Bayern Munich’s last-16 Champions League first leg with Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday, after criticism of his performance in last weekend’s shock defeat by Bochum.

Upamecano was left out of the starting line-up as Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann reverted to a back three following a catastrophic defensive display in the 4-2 loss on Saturday. 

The 23-year-old faced criticism for his performance against Bochum, with Bayern legend Lothar Matthaeus saying he looked “out of place” at a media event on Monday.

Bayern also lined up without goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who is still recovering from knee surgery and misses out on a Champions League fixture for the first time this season.

Sven Ulreich replaced Neuer between the sticks, while veteran forward Thomas Mueller assumed the captain’s armband.

Salzburg, meanwhile, were without Brazilian full-back Bernardo, who is also out after a knee operation. 

Starting line-ups:

Red Bull Salzburg (4-4-2)

Philipp Koehn; Rasmus Kristensen, Oumar Solet, Maximilian Woeber, Andreas Ulmer (capt); Nicolas Capaldo, Mohamed Camara, Nicolas Seiwald, Brenden Aaronson; Karim Adeyemi, Noah Okafor

Coach: Matthias Jaissle (GER)

Bayern Munich (3-2-4-1)

Sven Ulreich; Lucas Hernandez, Niklas Suele, Benjamin Pavard; Corentin Tolisso, Joshua Kimmich; Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Thomas Mueller (capt), Serge Gnabry; Robert Lewandowski

Coach: Julian Nagelsmann (GER)

Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)