Bayern serve up a dozen reasons to cheer

After Bayern’s record-breaking 12-1 aggregate victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League first knockout round, Lukas Podolski allowed himself a brief moment of reverie. “As a farewell, I’d happily take another Bundesliga title, and a place in the Champions League Final. The Final is definitely possible," the Cologne-bound striker declared after Bayern cruised into the last eight with a crushing 7-1 win in Tuesday’s return.

Unsurprisingly, the 65,000 at the Allianz Arena stayed in their seats long after the final whistle to hail the team for a glorious evening’s entertainment. A fair proportion of the crowd will, like Podolski, have let their thoughts stray to May the twenty-seventh, the day of the Champions League final in Rome. However, the prevailing mood in the dressing room called for focus on the down-to-earth business of the next match.