It was a commanding performance by Bayern in Bielefeld with 22 shots to eight, 75.7% possession and ultimately a 3-0 victory. "It was a deserved win," summed up head coach Julian Nagelsmann after a fourth Bundesliga triumph in a row, while goalscorer Serge Gnabry had "many chances" and was therefore "satisfied". Watching Bayern score in their 77th league game in a row, it was noticeable after the win at Bielefeld that the side had briefly looked back to the Champions League exit against Villarreal in midweek but were otherwise focussed on going forward. Because next Saturday, FC Bayern can become German champions for the tenth time in a row with a home win against their rivals Borussia Dortmund. Read the reaction here.
Reaction from the Bayern camp:
Julian Nagelsmann: "First of all, get well soon to the fan [a Bielefeld supporter had to received medical treatment] and also to their players. That's the most important thing. We had a very good start with some great chances. Unfortunately, it was only 1-0 and the opponent still believed they could get back in the game. We no longer had the control we had in the first 20 minutes. From the 70th minute onwards, we found control again. In the end, the first 20 minutes were a good indicator of how we come out of this week, which was a very good one. It was a deserved win and important that we got the chance to seal the title against Dortmund. That's a rare coincidence."
Serge Gnabry: "We already had some pent up frustration after the elimination in the Champions League, in a tie in which we had planned to progress. But in the end, football always moves on. Today was a new game. We wanted to win and we did. We did well with the ball, created a lot of space, let the opponent chase us and only lost the ball few times. We had many chances, maybe could have scored earlier. But we can be satisfied."
Joshua Kimmich: "The first half was quite good, in the second half we had a little less pace. We kept allowing counter-attacks with long balls. It was a deserved win. We definitely want to win the title next week against Dortmund at home. That's a special game for us and the whole Bundesliga. That's the ultimate goal, to clinch the league title. Personally, I had a hard time coming to terms with being knocked out. It took a few days. To be honest, it's still in the back of my mind. There was a lot of talk about the first leg, which was not good, but we 'only' had to win the second leg. We didn't manage to do that. That's why we were eliminated. It's difficult to process that we missed such a chance. I am a player who can assess his own performance well. I was disappointed, I demand myself to be there in games like that and to bring my best performance. I didn't manage to do that in both games. I was very disappointed with my performance and our performance."
Jamal Musiala: "It wasn't easy after the game against Villarreal. We were all a bit down. Lewy played me a great pass for my goal. I finally scored again. Now we have a title decider against Dortmund. It doesn't get any better than that. It's going to be an awesome game, we're all looking forward to it."
Alphonso Davies: "It's a good result, especially after last week. We wanted to keep our heads up and win this game. We're happy we could get the three points. Next week is an important game. We're really looking forward to it and are very motivated. We were able to build back some confidence with the win today."
Reaction from the Bielefeld camp:
Frank Kramer (Arminia Bielefeld head coach): "We have had our moments. The team fought and fought back. Today was a reaction to the 4-0 loss against Wolfsburg. It was a step, but in the end we are left empty-handed."
Patrick Wimmer (Arminia Bielefeld): "It was a very competitive game. We fought well. In certain moments we didn't have much luck, we didn't have the presence. It's difficult against Bayern."
The match report:
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