At the traditional Bayern banquet, the stars were received with thunderous applause. No crisis! After the prestigious victory in the football classic at Manchester United, the mood at FC Bayern is suddenly good again and the slap from Frankfurt has already been ticked off.
We are “back again,” said CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen happily on Wednesday night before opening the buffet. Dreesen praised the team, which will have to do without two more stars in the end of the year, and was already thinking ahead.
“We have shown that we are rightly one of the big clubs that also have ambitions to win the Champions League,” said Dreesen. Bitter for Bayern: After their return, goalscorer Kingsley Coman (torn hamstring) and defender Noussair Mazraoui (torn hamstring) were diagnosed with injuries. The next failures mean that coach Thomas Tuchel can only tackle the year-end spurt with a small squad.
Captain Manuel Neuer expressed similarly self-confidence after the 1-0 win at Old Trafford, which was hardly in danger. “We can achieve anything with our team,” said Neuer, who played his 700th club game – “a great mark” – in Manchester. Star striker Harry Kane, who set up Kingsley Coman’s winning goal with a dream pass, put it even more clearly: “That’s the goal, to win the Champions League.”
Who will you face in the round of 16?
The final will take place in London, Kane’s hometown, on June 1, 2024. Eleven years after their triumph in the German final against Borussia Dortmund, the Munich team want to be back on the pitch at Wembley and then hold the premier class trophy in their hands.
While Man United are completely eliminated from the European Cup as bottom of the group, the German record champions are now eagerly awaiting the draw for the round of 16 in Nyon on Monday. A duel with top teams such as defending champions Manchester City or Real Madrid is not possible for the time being. The Munich team can only face a group runner-up in the next round. “Of course, a lot always depends on the form on the day,” said Neuer: “But if we play as courageously as we did today and don’t think that it will happen on its own, then we can go far.”
So you go into the knockout round with a broad chest. The Munich team has been unbeaten in the premier class for 40 group games in a row. “I think that speaks for itself,” said Neuer. The team scored 16 out of 18 possible points in this group phase. The victory at Old Trafford, known as the “Theater of Dreams,” also caused the supporters who traveled with them to dream. Long after the final whistle, when most United fans were already on their way home, they were loudly singing “Football’s coming home” in the away block. However, Bayern have finished in the quarter-finals in each of the last three years.
Kane’s return to the island
It wasn’t a gala performance in Manchester, more of a work victory. But that was enough to make up for the 1:5 disgrace at Eintracht, which was noted with great astonishment in England. “After the Frankfurt game at the weekend, it was of course a special game for us,” said Bayern boss Dreesen. “The team showed a different face.” Coach Thomas Tuchel was also satisfied again after the final whistle. “Now we have fulfilled our duty,” he said. “That was at the highest level of team level.”
Although Munich had already won the group, Tuchel had chosen the best eleven. England captain Kane was particularly in focus on his return to the island. “We were really motivated after the result at the weekend,” said the former Tottenham striker on British broadcaster TNT Sport. Kane, who was also courted by Man United in the summer, expressed his satisfaction with his decision in favor of Munich. “Everyone has been incredible since I arrived at Bayern. I have a feeling there’s more to come,” said England’s national team captain.
Until Christmas, the focus is now on the Bundesliga. The first step is to improve in the top game against VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. “I think they simply have the momentum,” warned Manuel Neuer about their in-form neighbors in the table, who are only one point behind second-placed Munich before the clash. “They have a very good team, have grown together well and also have a top coach,” said Neuer, referring to Sebastian Hoeneß: “And so we can have a lot of confidence in them.”
