They stood together closely as a unit. The images of the Bayern players celebrating the 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt with their fans in the Arena's south stand were symbolic.
Together, fans and players clapped rhythmically to set the tone for Tuesday evening's showdown in the Allianz Arena. The mood is heating up and when Real Madrid visit Munich for the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, the atmosphere will be scintillating. There's no doubt about it. Together, we are strong.
Winning is the best preparation
“We showed a serious performance today," said board member for sport Max Eberl. "Now, we're looking forward to a great game against Real Madrid. I cannot wait! You can tell there's something special around the corner. A home game under the floodlights with 75,000 fans in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid. What more can you want?” he asked, adding: “The best preparation for such a fantastic football event is to win.”
With four wins in succession, Bayern are in good shape going into this highlight match. The Reds are currently experiencing great stability. Harry Kane further increased his confidence with his Bundesliga goals number 34 and 35 (9', 61') while his colleagues also showed a solid performance.
Speaking of Kane: the Englishman has now scored 42 competitive goals this season, which is a personal best. 35 goals after 31 games is the third best statistic in Bundesliga history. And, as if that wasn't enough, Kane recorded his 400th goal for club and country. Respect!
“It was a good win and important to keep the momentum going," said the striker. "I hope we can take this confidence into Tuesday's game. Against Real, we need to reach the levels we showed against Arsenal, maybe even more. Real have a fantastic team and a great history in this competition. I'm really looking forward to the atmosphere in the arena."
Laimer scene speaks volumes
Bayern only briefly lost their composure following Frankfurt's beautiful goal scored by Hugo Ekitike (24'). For the rest of the game, the Bavarians didn't give away many more chances, showed clever combinations and saw out the result.
One scene, however, really stood out. It was a meaningful moment as it perfectly illustrated what will be needed against Real Madrid and how solid Bayern's mentality is at the moment.
Prior to the first goal, Konrad Laimer won possession at the halfway line, proved unstoppable on his way forward as he left opponents to the left and right before setting up Kane for a goal. The “Konni-Laimer-Feeling” is what Thomas Müller called the conviction the Bayern team is currently experiencing and exuding. “I feel we're experiencing a better flow currently. We're a little more determined,” Müller exclaimed and added: “We deserved to win and actually missed a few chances. We did a tidy job at the end."
Against Real Madrid, every single player will have to go the limit and beyond for 180 minutes, possibly even more. The second leg of this match-up against Carlo Ancelotti's boys will take place at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on 8 May. The final takes place on 1 June at Wembley Stadium in London.
Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel also immediately switched into Champions League mode following Saturday's win: “It's always special against Carlo. We'll try to give his team a hard time. We need the stadium behind us. Then it will start off as a 50:50 match. We accept the challenge,” Tuchel announced.
As always, the fans were already in good form against Frankfurt. However, you could sense that little bit extra among the crowd as well. “We'll win the cup again,” they sang and of course the famous: “Arjen did it.”
It's time to dream. As always, however, it's business before pleasure.
At Bayern Munich, everyone is ready.
The reaction:
Topics of this article