🤔 I had no idea: Kimmich surprised by new UEFA rule | OneFootball

FC Bayern already has their ticket to the Champions League round of 16 securely in hand. On the final matchday next week against PSV Eindhoven, the Munich team still has a score to settle anyway, but there is also another reason why the motivation for another success in the Champions League should be very high. 

Because: After FCB’s 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, Bayern vice-captain Joshua Kimmich was apparently surprised by a change in the UEFA rules.

His team should definitely secure second place in the group stage, because according to the current rule, teams in first and second place have home advantage in the second leg of the knockout rounds up to the semifinals. In addition, this way they would not face the only team they lost to this season—Arsenal—until a possible final.

When Kimmich was asked about this new regulation after the match, he appeared surprised and said: "I actually didn’t know that it was the case, that you have the second leg at home." With a grin, he then added: "Now I want to finish second!”

Sporting director Max Eberl also emphasized the importance of second place for the further course of the Champions League and said: “Our main goal was, as it looks, to be mathematically among the top three. But we want to try to secure that second place. Then you avoid Arsenal and have home advantage in the second leg up to the semifinals. That’s an honorable goal that we now have to achieve against PSV.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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