Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano was heavily criticized for his start to the Bundesliga season and was duly dropped from the France starting lineup for their game against Italy. However, the new look defense of Arsenal FC’s William Saliba and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté struggled against Italy, conceding 3. Ergo, Upamecano was restored to the lineup for the game against Belgium, in which he helped keep a clean sheet and underlined his status as France’s No. 1 CB.
This will no doubt help the Frenchman’s self-confidence ahead of his games for Bayern, starting with Holstein Kiel this weekend, as the Bavarian giants look to collect their fourth win from four games under new head coach Vincent Kompany. Upamecano was asked about the new coach in a pre match press conference during international duty, as captured by @iMiaSanMia, though his answer was short and sweet: “I’m very happy he’s at Bayern, he’s a good coach who plays attractive football. He gives me a lot of advice because he used to play in my position.”
One of the first advice Kompany would likely have given him is that confidence is key. And now, with momentum on his side, perhaps Upamecano will be able to turn that confidence into some very impressive performances in a Bayern shirt.
Looking for more thoughts on the contract negotiations between Bayern Munich and Jamal Musiala, plus a take on Didi Hamann’s recent criticism of Musiala? What about an assessment of that crazy rumor eyeing a double-swoop of transfers in Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka? Awesome, then check out the latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
