While cycling the day after the show of force, the Bayern stars once again enjoyed the view of the sea on the terrace of the team hotel in Barcelona. In contrast to world footballer Robert Lewandowski, who was eliminated from the Champions League, the Bayern stars around leader Matthijs de Ligt were in the best of moods after the prematurely cemented group victory.
The Bayern entourage even dreamed of a new coup in Europe. "We're trying to win the Champions League," said coach Julian Nagelsmann, whose team has already landed back in Munich. "That was the first step, but there are still many steps to take to have the title at the end of the season."
The impressively secure 3-0 win against the proud FC Barcelona, who have been relegated to the Europa League for the second time in a row, should now be the benchmark for the big goals of the three-time Champions League winner. "A confident performance by our team and first place in the group," emphasized CEO Oliver Kahn. "A first partial success, but we still have a lot to do."
At Camp Nou, where Lewandowski stopped by for a nightly visit to the dressing room, Sadio Mané, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard, driven by three-time preparer Serge Gnabry, not only documented the offensive class of the series group winner with their goals. After a mysterious phase of weakness a few weeks ago, the performance on the defensive, which the 23-year-old defense chief de Ligt organized perfectly, was even more impressive.
"We did very well with 15 points from 5 games," said the Dutchman, who was the king transfer in the summer, at least in terms of the transfer fee of around 70 million euros. Due to the strong defense, the absence of the still injured national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was not noticed. Neuer trained as planned, said Nagelsmann at Sport1. He probably won't be back in goal against Mainz on Saturday.
He should also be rested against Milan in the group game next week, which is irrelevant for the placement. Like Bayern, Inter have also qualified for the round of 16 in February and March, in which Bayern have home advantage in the second leg. The draw for the first knockout round on the top floor of European football will take place on November 7th in Nyon.
Group win as a "sign"
"We'll see what winning the group means in the end when the draw is made," said Nagelsmann. Basically, however, the group winners were the better teams in the preliminary round. "So it's important as a sign inside and outside," said the 35-year-old. Big hits like top favorites Manchester City or Chelsea FC are not a threat, but despite a few unlucky ones, a duel with Liverpool FC would be possible. "If we bring this intensity paired with our quality onto the pitch, then we have a chance," said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
The road to the final on June 10 in Istanbul is still a long way off. Bayern's defensive stability was a key success factor in the triumphs of 2013 and 2020 - and in this respect the team was particularly convincing on Wednesday evening. "The performance was very mature, very confident," said Nagelsmann, who was the only coach in the premier class to celebrate four wins against the glorious FC Barcelona. "In terms of biliousness, my team played an exceptionally good game." Four group games without conceding prove the defensive quality in numbers.
"If we play well, every team has problems against us," said Thomas Müller, who felt sorry for his long-standing strike partner. "Of course you sympathize because you know what an ambitious athlete Lewy and what ambitious Club Barcelona is."
Again zero number for Lewandowski
As in the 0: 2 in the first leg, Lewandowski experienced a personal zero number as a five-time goal scorer in Europe - also because of de Ligt. "I think we played very nice duels," said de Ligt after what was probably his best game in a Bayern jersey. The fact that Barcelona didn't receive the penalty after a duel between him and Lewandowski allowed the 23-year-old to breathe deeply. Lewandowski just shook his head in annoyance on a black evening when the end was already certain before the kick-off.
"We have two brilliant central defenders at the moment," Nagelsmann emphasized the performances of de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano. Sven Ulreich, who once again stood in for Neuer (bruised shoulder joint), who probably won't be back for the weekend, was practically untested. "We simply have a different consistency overall, both in front of goal and in defence," emphasized Leon Goretzka. Lucas Hernández, another top man in defence, is still missing injured.
And up front, Choupo-Moting's personal football fairy tale continues. The 33-year-old also scored against Barcelona. "We go into every Champions League season with the goal of winning the thing in the end because we have the quality in the team," said the attacker. When he was practically ordered by Salihamidzic to talk about his next assassination. In the background, the significantly improved Mané stole from the cult stadium. "He made a strong game," said "Choupo". The fact that his successor also shone matched Lewandowski's bitter evening.
