Bayern President Reveals Niko Kovač Will Be in Charge for Champions League Tie Against Benfica

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß has insisted manager Niko Kovač will still be in charge of the Bavarians for their penultimate UEFA Champions League group stage encounter against Benfica, despite the Croat's side squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against relegation-threatened Fortuna Düsseldorf at the Allianz Arena.

The stalemate left Die Roten in fifth, nine points behind leaders and rivals Borussia Dortmund who remain unbeaten in the league, and piled the pressure on the under-fire Croat after three successive Bundesliga games without a victory.

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Goals from Niklas Süle and Thomas Müller had given the Bavarians a comfortable two-goal cushion, but Dodi Lukebakio halved the deficit before half-time. 

Müller then added his second of the night to make it three and restore his side's two-goal lead, but two successive strikes from Lukebakio saw him seal his hat-trick and salvage a draw for Fortuna.

Pressure has been mounting on the Croatian, with his side facing Benfica on Tuesday. However, club president Hoeneß indicated that Kovač would be in-charge for the encounter, while also admitting the club would deal with the matter of their managerial situation internally.

Hoeneß told SportBild: "On Tuesday [against Benfica] our coach will certainly be Niko Kovac. Today is a difficult day for us. There is a need for discussion internally." 

Manager Kovač was appalled by the performance, indicating that his side cannot afford to keep defending in that manner at this level.

As quoted by the official Bayern Munich Twitter account, Kovač said: "I'm anything but happy. We made too many mistakes at the back. You can't defend like that in the Bundesliga."

Bayern conceded the equaliser deep into injury time at the end of the match and Müller, who netted twice, suggested that the side may have lacked sharpness, returning from the international break, as well as dismissing talk of the title. 

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As quoted by Bayern's official website, Müller said: "Maybe there is missing the 100 per cent sharpness. We are too reckless. After a last-minute 3-3 we should not speak of the championship. We wanted to win, get three points and take a step forward."