Bayern face a squad crisis: 16-year-old goalkeeper could debut in the Champions League

Bayern Munich are enjoying a strong season and performing confidently both in the Bundesliga and in European competitions. However, ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 second-leg match against Atalanta, head coach Vincent Kompany has encountered an unexpected problem — the club has almost no healthy goalkeepers left.

The latest player to join the injury list is experienced goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. He started in the Bundesliga match against Bayer in Leverkusen (1:1), but after the game he was diagnosed with a tear in the adductor muscle of his right thigh. The club’s medical staff reported this following a detailed examination. According to preliminary information, Ulreich will be sidelined for at least six weeks.

The situation is complicated by the fact that this is already the fourth injury among Bayern’s goalkeepers.

Manuel Neuer is still recovering from a calf muscle injury.

Jonas Urbig suffered a concussion.

Leon Klanac is out due to hamstring problems.

Because of this personnel crisis, the coaching staff has been forced to turn to the youth team. At the moment, Bayern only have two healthy academy goalkeepers available — 16-year-old Leonard Prescott and 19-year-old goalkeeper Jannis Bartl.

Prescott is currently considered the main candidate to be included in the squad for the Champions League match. If circumstances unfold in a certain way, the young goalkeeper could unexpectedly make his debut in Europe’s premier club competition.

The second leg between Bayern and Atalanta will take place on March 18 in Munich. In the first match, the German club secured a convincing 6–1 victory and therefore approaches the game as the clear favorite.

Thus, despite their comfortable position in the tie against the Italian side, Bayern head into the match with serious squad problems. The main intrigue remains whether the coaching staff will dare to trust the goal to 16-year-old Prescott in a Champions League match.