-myKhel Team

Bayern Munich are dealing with a serious goalkeeping shortage before the Champions League last 16 second leg against Atalanta, with 16-year-old Leonard Prescott now expected to start after injuries to Manuel Neuer, Jonas Urbig and Sven Ulreich.

Ulreich picked up the latest problem during Bayern’s 1-1 Bundesliga draw away to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, suffering a muscle tear in the right adductor, which the club confirmed on Sunday, ruling the experienced goalkeeper out of the Atalanta return match.

The setback for Ulreich came soon after the goalkeeper had been brought in because of Urbig’s concussion, which occurred during Bayern’s midweek Champions League win over Atalanta, while first-choice Neuer remains unavailable through injury, leaving Vincent Kompany short of senior options in goal.

Prescott, who turned 16 this season, has already appeared on the bench twice in this tie, first during the 6-1 victory at New Balance Arena in Bergamo on Tuesday and again against Leverkusen, and is now the leading candidate to start the second leg.

Bayern travel into the home leg with a strong advantage after that 6-1 success, in which Michael Olise scored twice and delivered one assist, giving the Bundesliga leaders control of the aggregate scoreline despite their growing injury concerns in the goalkeeping department.

Club information on social media outlined the diagnosis for Ulreich’s injury, confirming the adductor tear, while Kompany must now weigh whether to trust Prescott from the start or look for an emergency solution, although registration rules limit alternatives this late in the Champions League campaign.

The situation means Bayern, despite a clear lead over Atalanta, enter the second leg with rare uncertainty in goal, as three injured goalkeepers and the likely debut of teenager Prescott create a key talking point around a tie that otherwise appears strongly in the German club’s favour.

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