Group winners with five wins from five! That's FC Bayern's perfect record in the 2021/22 Champions League thus far. Captain Manuel Neuer summed up the feelings after the 2-1 victory in the UCL away at a snowy Dynamo Kyiv: "Mission accomplished!" The joy after the win was etched on the players' and coaches' faces after a hard-fought match. But advancing to the Last 16 as group winners should just be the beginning, as Julian Nagelsmann reiterated after the game: "There's still a long way to go." Reaction to the game below.
Reaction from the Bayern camp:
Julian Nagelsmann: "In the end, we gritted our teeth well and it was an important victory. In general, it wasn't an easy game, also considering the circumstances. Not just the pitch conditions, but also our squad situation, which was already on a knife-edge before the game. During the interval, we had to change what we were doing because Luci [Lucas Hernandéz] had to come off injured and we didn't have a third centre-back. We took a while to readjust to the change and we were a bit too passive. However, we had two or three good opportunities to transition into counters, but our final ball wasn't right. The third goal would have finished the game off. The goal we conceded was a bit annoying. We still have a long way to go. We have to be more stable, especially against opposition like today's."
Manuel Neuer: "Mission accomplished [ed. winning the group]. That was our first aim and we did that well. It was not our best performance, but fundamentally you could say that we're satisfied with our performance in the Champions League. We won all our games and have 15 points. We're looking forward to the next game against Barcelona. The important thing is always to stay focused, even if it's not always as plain sailing as it can be. Today everyone gave their all. That was important."
Alphonso Davies: "I'm happy that we got the three points and won the group. That was important. We always want to be the best. Of course, I'm also happy that I was named Man of the Match. It wasn't an easy game, but we did the job."
Reaction from the Kyiv camp:
Mircea Lucescu (Dynamo Kyiv head coach): "We wanted to play at full tilt and leave the pitch with our heads held high. We encountered a side that've dominated the Bundesliga for many years. They have a very good squad. We played better than we did last time [we played Bayern]. What is very positive is that we played more bravely and with more confidence. We showed progress."
The match report:
Topics of this article