Agency Report –
Winning the Bundesliga is now Bayern Munich’s top priority, after the dream of lifting the Champions League trophy in their home stadium has ended.
“If we don’t win the championship it will be another bad season,” midfielder Joshua Kimmich warned.
Bayern finished without a trophy for the first time since 2012 last season. This term they went out of the German Cup against Bayer Leverkusen before Inter Milan ended their European campaign on Wednesday night.
But Bayern are well-placed in the domestic league to reclaim the title, as they top the table six points ahead of title holders Leverkusen with five games left, and have a vastly superior goal difference.
The Club World Cup in June and July also offers a chance to win silverware.
Their next match is on Saturday at third last Heidenheim, and Kimmich sees no motivation problems after Wednesday’s 2-2 at San Siro which saw Bayern narrowly eliminated 4-3 on aggregate by Inter.
Reaction expected in Bundesliga
“It is easier to show a reaction after a defeat, an exit,” he said. “I would be more concerned if we had won 3-0 here. Now there are no excuses. We must win at least three games.”
Bayern’s remaining Bundesliga games after Heidenheim are against Mainz, RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach, who all have European ambitions, before finishing in Hoffenheim.
“That’s football, we shouldn’t let it spoil the season. We have the chance to regain the title in the Bundesliga,” said striker Harry Kane, who finally wants to lift a first trophy in his career.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told the team: “I wish the team the strength and courage to look ahead again once we have shaken off the disappointment. We still have five games left in the league. This is your championship, you deserve to win this championship.”
Not good enough in Europe?
In overall terms, Kane said defiantly that “we can beat any team in the world” but Kimmich also reflected on the Champions League campaign with four defeats from 14 games by saying that “we didn’t beat many European top teams.”
“There were too many cases where we didn’t win although we had the feeling that we were the better team,” he said.
Kimmich dismissed that this was a quality issue because if that was the case “we wouldn’t be able to be the dominant team on the pitch. We must get results.”
Confident outlook
Germany captain Kimmich added he was “fully convinced” of the team, its path and coach Vincent Kompany, who for his part also looked ahead.
“I still see a lot of opportunities out there. And that’s exactly what I like. That we’re immediately looking ahead again. That we say: we’re moving on soon – with the Club World Cup, with the (next) Champions League, with the next goal,” Kompany said.
By John Bagratuni
