The Bayern players and coaching staff had little time to bask in the afterglow of the 3-1 triumph in Manchester on Wednesday. Just 14 hours after the final whistle at Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola ordered all 20 of his players to train on a pitch adjacent to City's ground. The previous evening's starting eleven completed a regeneration session involving running, stretching and short-sided routines, with the rest of the squad spending a full 90 minutes woking with and without the ball.
The FCB party then transferred to Manchester airport, although the plane was not heading back to Munich. The flight took the stars to Cologne – another sign that the treble winners have already put the stirring evening in the north-west of England behind them and are fully focused on the next challenge, the Bundesliga fixture away to Leverkusen on Saturday.
Stern test ahead
"We're on the road a lot, so it makes sense,” Manuel Neuer told fcbayern.de. The players are spared a flight by proceeding direct to the Rhineland, “and sometimes that's what you have to do,“ observed Philipp Lahm, describing the meeting with the side in third as “a big ask. Leverkusen are in good shape. They're dangerous opponents who play good football.“
"They're hard to play against and we had a few problems at their place last time,” warned Neuer, who is expecting a stern test against the Werkself, winners in two of their last three meetings with FCB. “It's another big game,” commented Arjen Robben, aware that the chorus of praise from Manchester will be worth nothing at the BayArena: “We start again from scratch on Saturday.”
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