Bayern see attack as best form of defence

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL SECOND LEG: Lyon 0 Bayern Munich 1

BAYERN MUNICH coach Louis van Gaal claims the best way of defending his side’s 1-0 advantage over Lyon in the Champions League semi-final second leg tomorrow night will be to attack their hosts as if it were a brand new knock-out match.

Bayern have one foot in the Madrid final thanks to Arjen Robben’s strike at the Allianz Arena last Wednesday and van Gaal suggested his side should wipe the slate clean and pretend to be starting with the score at 0-0 to progress to their first Champions League final since 2001.

“We have got to forget about the first leg because this is going to be a different game,” he said.

“But I believe that my players would love to reach the final. Our will is strong.”

Bayern will are likely to be without several key players. Franck Ribery is suspended while defenders Daniel van Buyten, Martin Demichelis and Diego Contento are all carrying knocks.

Furthermore, defensive midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk has not made the trip to France due to illness, leaving van Gaal sweating over his team selection right until the last minute.

“We have many injuries and many problems,” he admitted. “We hope that they can play. We have brought 17 players and if they cannot play, then we will still have 14 players. We will still be able to field 11 players.”

Even if his team is down to the bare bones, van Gaal knows he can rely on one extra quality which defines a German team.

“When I was coach in Holland, I used to always say that you have not beaten a German team, even if it is the 90th minute and you are ahead,” he explained.

“We have many German players in our side and there are many foreigners who have played a long time in Germany.

“These players have learnt a lot from German football and this extraordinary mentality of German footballers. That is also why I am here at Bayern Munich.”

While van Gaal may be without van Buyten, who has severe bruising to his lower leg, and Demichelis, who has pulled his calf muscle, he can welcome captain Mark van Bommel back from suspension.

Van Gaal will choose between Miroslav Klose or Mario Gomez in his attack, with the former holding a slight advantage after scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach at the weekend.

That result keeps Bayern on course for a historic treble.

They lead Schalke on goal difference at the top of the Bundesliga with two games of the season remaining before facing Werder Bremen in the final of the DFB-Pokal on May 15th.

Seven days later, they hope to be in Madrid, bidding for European glory.

Lyon stand in their way, and manager Claude Puel has hinted his side will employ a more attacking approach in the second leg. The French side creaked with caution in the opening leg.

Puel may be forced into a more attacking mindset because he is likely to be without both of his central defensive pairing from the first leg.

Jeremy Toulalan deputised in the role in Munich, but is suspended following his dismissal in Munich, while Cris is struggling with a knee injury suffered in the same game.

Jean-Alain Boumsong and Dejan Lovren could return to take their places, with the former back in training after three weeks out due to a calf injury.