As of: March 6, 2024, 2:33 p.m
By: Vinzent Tschirpke, Manuel Bonke, Philipp Kessler
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Munich's Aleksandar Pavlovic.
© Angelika Warmuth/dpa/archive image
Bayern six Aleksandar Pavlovic also showed a strong performance against Lazio Rome.
Nevertheless, he wants to continue working on his weaknesses.
Munich - Anyone who had guessed before the season that 19-year-old Aleksandar Pavlovic would be in the starting line-up in the second leg of the round of 16 would probably have just been laughed at tiredly.
In fact, the fairytale rise of the midfield talent continued against Lazio Rome - and Pavlovic (
tz
grade 2) pulled the strings on FC Bayern's double six in an impressive way on Tuesday.
“I'm never really nervous,” said the youngster about the pressure he was under during his first outing in the Champions League.
“I’m rather happy that I get to play and show what I’m capable of!”
When progressing against the Italians, Pavlovic demonstrated these skills once again.
There was special praise for this from the actual midfield boss Joshua Kimmich: “He plays fresh and relaxed and wants to have every ball,” said the national player about his young teammate’s mature performance.
“Accordingly, I totally begrudge him that things are going this way – it’s no coincidence either.”
Pavlovic wants to continue working on his weaknesses
Despite all the praise, Pavlovic wants to continue working on his weaknesses - and has sought out a prominent role model: “I want to improve physically and defensively.
Like Leon Goretzka, he’s a machine.”
In fact, the physical and athletic area is probably the only area in which he currently needs improvement.
With his chip balls and clever lateral shifts, Pavlovic has been building up the game for the record champions at the highest technical level for weeks.
The only problem this season has been in defense, with Pavlovic (still) lacking the necessary speed and stability in duels.
For the upcoming DFB course, the six-man should first gain experience in the U21s before he could become an issue for the senior national team at the European Championships (
tz
reported).
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Theoretically, the Munich native could also play for Serbia.
After the final whistle, Pavlovic left a renewed question about the decision as to which nation he wanted to play for in the A section unanswered: "We'll see about that in the end."
Vinzent Tschirpke, Manuel Bonke, Philipp Kessler