Bayern and Leverkusen unhappy with Friday night fixture
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are unhappy about playing on a Friday night right after the international break.
A mouth-watering clash between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen awaits when the Bundesliga returns from the international break this Friday.
However, the conditions for the game are far from ideal, according to both Bayern and Leverkusen, who would have preferred the game to be played on Saturday.
That would have given both teams another day to rest and prepare for the game after an international break that has seen their players travel to different parts of the world.
"It's not really understandable that this game is taking place on a Friday," Bayer Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes complained, according to Kicker.
"But that goes for both teams, who would have preferred to play on Saturday. It's not a big problem, but it would have been preferable."
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel expressed similar sentiments to Sky Germany, telling the German media outlet:
"It's a bit tough for both teams to play on Friday night. It's a top Bundesliga game, both teams have a lot of national players, so I'm not really sure it's a good idea to play the game on Friday night."
The reason is the TV rights allocation. Sky Germany has the first choice for the top match on Saturday at 18:30 CET every matchday, but the broadcaster is only allowed to show each club eight times per season in this slot, and therefore decided to pick another game.
This left DAZN, who is only allowed to show Bundesliga games on Fridays and Sundays, with the rights to show the game. With Bayern playing Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday next week, Sunday wasn't a possibility. Thus, Friday was the only possible option.