Boateng takes one for the team

A slight communication error in Bayern's defence and Yaya Touré marched through a gaping gap on his way to goal. Jérôme Boateng tried to tackle him, but arrived slightly late. The consequence was a red card for the Munich defender. “I had to go for it,” he commented after the match. And true enough, he had to. If Touré had scored in the 86th minute, it would have given Manchester City renewed vigour and realistic hopes of an unlikely comeback. As it was, Bayern lost a valuable player, but secured a 3-1 victory. “We're a team and fight for each other, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made, so I'll gladly take this one,” Boateng continued.

However, the sending off clearly pained the Germany international. The aggrieved feeling was doubtless intensified by the fact he was playing against his former club. “It was an unnecessary red card,” the centre-back lamented, unhappy with the defending as a team in this situation. Pep Guardiola agreed that even though Bayern showed moments of brilliance, there needs to be “more focus, and more concentration in every situation” from his troops.

It shows that Bayern still have work to do over the coming weeks and months. Boateng, who has been playing extremely well in the last couple of months and has become a regular, will miss the next Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen. “We'll have to find a solution,” Guardiola commented. The Bayern coach has plenty of options: “We have Daniel, we have Jan, and maybe Javi will be fit again.”

The focus now switches to Saturday, where third-place Bayer Leverkusen await in the Bundesliga. “We always have to think from game to game, and Leverkusen are our next opponents. It won't be easy,” Boateng explained. He is not suspended in the league, and has a very good chance of making another start on Saturday.