Bayern’s final match prior to Tuesday’s big Champions League clash with Manchester United did not quite go according to plan for Pep Guardiola’s men as the reshuffled Reds dropped league points for only the third time this season in a see-saw contest at home to Hoffenheim on Saturday. The visitors gave a good account of themselves and contributed their share to a roustabout afternoon of football in Munich that ended with the Reds not winning for the first time in 20 Bundesliga fixtures, but still stretching their unbeaten streak to 53 league games.
The 71,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw the unfamiliar home line-up have the better of the opening exchanges but fall behind to an AnthonyModeste breakaway goal midway through the first half. Claudio Pizarro and Xherdan Shaqiri turned it round with a quickfire double strike after the half-hour and Pizza put his side 3-1 up after 40 minutes, but Sejad Salihovic pulled one back with a stunning free-kick before half-time. It was an open contest for long spells in the second half before Roberto Firmino levelled it up and earned his side a point with 15 minutes to go.
The draw takes FCB up to 78 points after 28 matches, still a yawning 23 clear of second-placed Dortmund. The Bavarians now swiftly turn their focus to the next highlight of the season, the trip to Old Trafford in the north-west of England on Tuesday night.
In advance of the European showdown Guardiola made no fewer than seven changes to the team that sealed the title in Berlin last Tuesday, with only Rafinha, Dante, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Götze retaining their places in the wholesale shakeup.
The FCB line-up on the day featured ex-Hoffenheim keeper Tom Starke in goal, Rafinha, Daniel van Buyten, Dante and Diego Contento in the back four, Schweinsteiger and Thiago in central midfield, Xherdan Shaqiri and Franck Ribery out wide, and Pizarro up front.
Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol, whose team were the league’s second-highest scoring on 60 goals but worst defensively with 59 conceded prior to the match, fielded a full-strength side including the likes of US international Fabian Johnson, Brazilian goal-getter Roberto Firmino and Bosnia schemer Salihovic, all seeking to supply French hitman Modeste.
After referee Christian Dingert blew for kick-off on a beautiful spring afternoon in Munich the Reds bossed possession as normal but found clear-cut chances hard to come by. Schweinsteiger loosed off a sighter after six minutes but there was danger at the other end five minutes later when Modeste almost charged down Starke’s hasty clearance.
Pizarro twice came within an ace of connecting with Ribery centres, but just as the Reds were gaining the upper hand Kevin Volland played a long ball in behind the home defence for Modeste to hare clear and beat Starke at the second attempt, the first time the ex-TSG man had conceded for FCB. There was another worry for Munich when Thiago limped out of the action to be replaced by Lahm.
The unexpected goal against roused Munich into action and visiting keeper Jens Grahl made a good save from Pizarro, but the Peruvian was not to be denied for long and levelled it up on 31 minutes, diving to beat defender Tobias Strobl to a Shaqiri cross and loop a header over the line. The roles were reversed just 180 seconds later when Pizza chested down Rafinha’s ball into the box for Shaq to guide his shot past Grahl from six yards.
The entertainment continued unabated, Pizarro missing a gilt-edged opportunity to extend the lead when his chip cleared both Grahl and the crossbar, but the veteran made no mistake in the 40th minute with a classic close-range finish after he himself had brilliantly played in Ribery down the left channel, the Frenchman returning a fine ball to the near post.
That was still not it for the first half scoring as the visitors pulled another goal back a minute from half-time when Salihovic confirmed his reputation as one of the best set-piece specialists in the league with a stunning free-kick, curled unstoppably past Starke from fully 30 yards.
Mandzukic replaced Götze for the second half and Munich were on the front foot at once, Shaqiri dribbling dangerously into the box, Schweinsteiger shooting straight at Grahl and Ribery’s mazy run coming to an end in a forest of Hoffenheim legs. But the visitors bounced back with Starke forced to save from Roberto Firmino as the contest remained evenly-matched with the hour approaching.
Gisdol’s men kept it tight at the back with FCB struggling to find gaps, and Hoffenheim sensed they still had a chance. Starke saved from Vestergaard but could do nothing to stop the dangerous Roberto Firmino wriggling his way past Dante and striking a 75th-minute equaliser from just inside the box.
Guardiola reacted by sending on Arjen Robben for Ribery, and the Dutchman soon forced TSG captain Andreas Beck into a desperate goal line clearance before Grahl dived to save from Rafinha. At the other end Volland shot straight at Starke and sub Hakim Elyounoussi scooped a good chance over the bar, but Robben so nearly stole it for the Reds in the 87th minute only to see his effort turned aside by Grahl. Starke made an equally important save for FCB from Sebastian Rudy as the game ended in a draw, probably the right result on the day.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
| Bayern Munich | Starke - Rafinha, Van Buyten, Dante, Contento - Schweinsteiger, Thiago (Lahm 25) - Shaqiri, Götze (Mandzukic 46), Ribéry (Robben 75) - Pizarro |
| Substitute | Neuer, Alaba, Martínez, Müller |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Grahl - Johnson, Strobl, Vestergaard, Beck – Rudy, Polanski – Volland (Karaman 89), Roberto Firmino, Salihovic (Herdling 60) – Modeste (Elyounoussi 32) |
| Substitute | Stolz, Süle, Toljan, Hamad |
| Referee | Dingert (Lebecksmühle) |
| Viewers | 71,000 (capacity) |
| Goals | 0-1 Modeste (23), 1-1 Pizarro (31), 2-1 Shaqiri (34), 3-1 Pizarro (40), 3-2 Salihovic (44), 3-3 Firmino (75) |
| Yellow card | Schweinsteiger / Firmino, Vestergaard |
No sooner is the Bundesliga title in the bag than the next honour comes FC Bayern's way. The day after the championship celebrations in Berlin, the reigning FIFA Club World Cup winners picked up the sporting equivalent of an Oscar, the Laureus World Sports Award, in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night.
FCB topped the Team of the Year category. The other teams nominated were the Brazil national team, Miami Heat (basketball), the All Blacks (New Zealand rugby union national team), the Red Bull Formula 1 team and tennis doubles partners Bob and Mike Bryan.
FC Bayern representative Paul Breitner accepted the trophy from Johan Cruyff. Bayern are the third football club to receive the Laureus award after Barcelona (2012) and Manchester United (2000). “Another great moment for our fantastic club,” declared Breitner.
The five titles in 2013 (FIFA Club World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Bundesliga, DFB Cup) paved the way to picking up the award. “The biggest challenge now is to defend the Champions League title,” said Breitner in his acceptance speech, “nobody has done that yet. Pep Guardiola is the coach who can make it possible for us.”
Breitner also succeeded in getting a laugh from the 600 VIP guests. “I'm proud to be able to take the sports Oscar back to Munich,” said the FCB ambassador before adding: “Strangely, Hollywood refused to recognise my two-minute appearance inPotato Fritz.”
The Laureus World Sports Awards were launched in 2000. The nominations in the various categories are made by international journalists and the winners are selected in a secret ballot held by the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. This illustrious body is made up of sporting greats from across the globe including Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Charlton, Boris Becker, Katarina Witt, Mika Häkkinen and Edwin Moses.
World Team of the Year: FC Bayern Munich (GER)
Sportsman of the Year: Sebastian Vettel (Formula 1, GER)
Sportswoman of the Year: Missy Franklin (swimming, USA)
Comeback of the Year: Rafael Nadal (tennis, ESP)
Breakthrough of the Year: Marc Márquez (motor cycling, ESP)
Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Marie Bochet (skiing, FRA)
World Action Sportsperson of the Year:Jamie Bestwick (BMX, GBR)
Sport for Good Award: Magic Bus (Indian non-profit organisation)
Spirit of Sport Award: Afghan national cricket team
Matthias Sammer: “First and foremost, all due credit to the coach and the team. After the previous successful season we set about our work with great determination and we’ve won the title even earlier than last year. We’re happy. We have unbelievable focus and momentum at the moment. We created a foundation last year based on strong characters. We’ve adjusted things where necessary and continued our development.”
Pep Guardiola: “I’m pleased we’ve done it. Another trophy for this club is important. Congratulations to everyone on this massive season. We’ll eat and celebrate together tonight. When you have a little time to spare you ought to enjoy it. Many, many thanks to the club for the opportunity to be here and coach these outstanding players. We played really, really well for 30 minutes, we were dynamic but kept it simple and used the whole of the pitch. We controlled the game but forgot to attack at times.”
Manuel Neuer: “It’s still a bit cold outdoors in March, but everyone can see we’re on fire and determined to win every match. We’re happy and proud, because it’s very special to be crowned champions at such an early stage. We’ve carried the momentum from winning the treble last summer with us since then. Nobody honestly thought it would just keep going so seamlessly.”
It’s official: nobody is faster than super Bayern. FCB have won the German league title earlier than ever before in the 51-year history of the Bundesliga. The Reds secured the club’s 24th title on Tuesday night with a 2-0 victoryat Hertha Berlin. And Guardiola’s merry men have even managed to beat their own record set last season: Bayern won Germany’s top flight on Matchday 28 last term (6 April 2013) and have now gone one better by being the first club to win the championship in March - on Matchday 27.
FC Bayern have become experts in winning the league title early. The Reds have secured seven of the eight earliest title wins in the history of the Bundesliga:
| Decided on Matchday 27: | FC Bayern (2013/14) |
| Decided on Matchday 28: | FC Bayern (2012/13) |
| Decided on Matchday 30: | FC Bayern (1972/73, 2002/03) |
| Decided on Matchday 31: | Werder Bremen (1987/88), FC Bayern (1998/99, 2004/05, 2007/08) |
Bayern are also pace-setters on the European stage. Since the introduction of the three points for a win rule, no club in the top five leagues has won their respective domestic title with more than five games to play.
Business before pleasure: Pep Guardiola and his Bayern charges are looking to secure the 24th league title in the club’s history in Berlin on Tuesday night. However, there is still work to be done, as the Bayern head coach explained ahead of the away fixture at Hertha BSC: “We’ve got to play well and win first.”
Out of “respect” for “good opponents”, the boss did not want to talk about possible celebrations. However, the Spaniard was prepared to admit he was looking forward to a possible championship party: “I’ll be very happy and proud the moment we win the title.” A victory in front of a capacity 76,197 crowd at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin would mean Bayern claiming the title on Matchday 27, setting another record as the earliest winners in the 51-year history of the Bundesliga.
“The championship is the most important title. You have to win week-in, week-out,” said Guardiola, emphasising the value of winning the league, “you’ve always got to show you’re better than the opposition.” FCB have certainly fitted the bill in the current campaign with no defeats to date. “We’ve done well so far this season but we obviously want to carry on in the same vein,” said the Spaniard.
Hertha BSC have faltered recently after a surprisingly good first half of the season. The Reds experienced that at first hand in a hard-fought 3-2 home win at the end of October. “Hertha have been outstanding so far this season,” said Guardiola in praise of coach Jos Luhukay’s team. Hertha are “very good on the break,” but they can also “use the ball well.”
Pep Guardiola: “We’ve played very good opponents and we’ve won. We’ve extended our record to 18 wins on the trot. That's the result of a lot of hard work. I’m just pleased about winning today against one of the toughest teams we’ll face this season. We only need one more win now. It’s in our own hands. We can be champions in the capital on Tuesday.“
Bastian Schweinsteiger: “You always have to work hard for victory here in Mainz. They’re very aggressive and they press high up the field. The first half wasn’t easy, but they were tired towards the end. We’re not really concerned about when we win the title. We want to maintain our rhythm. The second half was pretty good.“
Bayern moved to within an ace of a 24th German championship on Saturday thanks to a record-breaking 18th straight Bundesliga win, although fifth-placed FSV Mainz pushed the treble winners all the way before Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Götze settled a fluid and always absorbing contest in the final ten minutes. The treble winners are now unbeaten in their last 51 league games and require only a point to defend the league title.
The 34,000 capacity crowd at the Coface Arena saw a breathless start with chances at both ends, but the goalmouth action soon died down as the aggressive home side pressed high up the field and denied the champions-elect space. FCB slowly but surely threw off the shackles in the course of an absorbing second half and camped out in the final third, the reward coming in the closing stages with the double strike from Schweinsteiger and sub Götze.
A 24th win from 26 matches this term means FCB now have 74 points, 23 clear of second-placed Dortmund. The Bavarians can wrap up the league title once and for all on Tuesday when they travel to the German capital for the meeting with Hertha BSC Berlin.
FC Bayern can hardly wait for Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw, to be held at UEFA HQ in Nyon, Switzerland at midday CET. Eight out of 32 teams are left in the race for the final in Lisbon on 24 May. After knocking out Arsenal in the Round of 16, FC Bayern are in the running to be the first team ever to successfully defend the Champions League title.
But the competition is high calibre now as the Reds could face Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain, Manchester United or Borussia Dortmund in the quarters. “All the teams in the quarter-finals are top sides. We haven’t got any preferences,” said Claudio Pizarro in an interview with fcbayern.de, “if we want to win the Champions League again we have to beat whoever’s put in front of us.”
None of the teams are seeded in this draw so clubs can be drawn against opposition from their own countries. That means the last eight could provide a rerun of last season’s final between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund after BVB overcame Zenit St. Petersburg 5-4 on aggregate.
There are three clubs from La Liga left in the Champions League. Barcelona knocked out Bayern’s group opponents Manchester City 4-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16. One interesting stat: in the last six years the Champions League has been won by the Catalan side or the team that beat Barca on the way to the final. Last season that was Bayern at the semi-final stage.
Real Madrid breezed past Schalke 9-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 and are in the hunt for their tenth European Cup/Champions League title with Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. Real have not won Europe’s premier club competition since 2002. Local rivals Atlético Madrid are the surprise package in the quarter-finals. The Spanish Cup winners with former FCB man José Ernesto Sosa in the side secured a convincing 5-1 aggregate victory over AC Milan.
The Premier League still has two teams in the running in Chelsea and Manchester United. The Blues, winners in 2012, overcame Turkish champions Galatasaray 3-1 on aggregate in the last round, while two-time winners United (1999, 2008) knocked Greek champions Olympiakos out of the competition thanks to a Robin van Persie hat-trick at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, helping David Moyes’ men overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.
Paris Saint Germain are the only French team to make it to the Champions League quarter-finals. The Ligue 1 leaders gave Bayer Leverkusen no chance in the last 16 with a 6-1 aggregate victory. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co are determined to become the second French club to lift the Champions League trophy after Olympique Marseille in 1993.
Friday afternoon’s draw will determine which of these seven clubs will face FC Bayern and whether the first leg is home or away. The quarter-final programme is completed within a week: the first leg matches will be on 1 and 2 April with the return matches on 8 and 9 April.
Super Bayern stretched their extraordinary unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga to 50 games and also won their 17th straight league fixture with a 2-0 victory over fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, although it was a laboured encounter at times between teams who were both in European action a few days ago. The result together with a defeat for Dortmund earlier in the day means FCB can theoretically wrap up their 24th German championship next weekend at an earlier point in the season than ever before.
The 71,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw Pep Guardiola’s side struggle to create chances against the deep-lying visitors in a dour first half, but FCB picked up the pace with half-time approaching and Mario Mandzukic headed the 44th-minute opener. Bastian Schweinsteiger doubled the advantage seven minutes after the restart with a superb direct free-kick and FCB bossed the play without undue difficulty through to the close, although Manuel Neuer was robbed of a clean sheet when Stefan Kießling pulled one back for the subdued visitors in stoppage time.
A 23rd win from 25 fixtures takes FCB onto 71 points, 23 ahead of second-placed Dortmund with only nine games to play. The Bavarians are back in Bundesliga action next Saturday when they travel to high-flying Mainz.
The last defeat was a long, long time ago. FC Bayern are unbeaten in their last 49 league matches, comprising 43 wins and six draws with the previous 16 games all ending in victory. FCB can make it a round 50 games without losing if they avoid defeat in Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Bayer Leverkusen. However, Pep Guardiola’s team need to be on their guard against theWerkself. The last points Bayern dropped in the league came in a 1-1 draw at Leverkusen in October 2013. And the last defeat was almost exactly a year before that in a 2-1 reverse at home to - Bayer Leverkusen.
And the recent record against Leverkusen should serve as ample warning for FCB. Bayern have only won once in their last four outings against the Rhineland club with the other three games producing one draw and two defeats. However, the Reds have won twelve of the last 18 games and the home record of 25 wins, six draws and just three defeats with a goal difference of 79 for and 30 against speaks volumes for Bayern. The two teams have met a total of 69 times in the top flight with 40 wins for FCB, 14 draws and 15 defeats. The goal difference is 133 to 84.
Goals are almost guaranteed when Bayern and Bayer face each other. The last 47 Bundesliga matches between the Reds and the Werkself have always produced at least one goal. The last 0-0 draw was almost 24 years ago on 28 April 1990 in Leverkusen.
Markus Schmidt is the referee on Saturday. It is the first time this season the 40-year-old personnel manager from Stuttgart has refereed a game involving Bayern. The assistant referees are Wolfgang Walz and Kai Voss with Christian Dingert acting as the fourth official.
History repeats itself? Not at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night. Almost exactly 12 months ago Bayern were in danger of failing to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League right up to the final whistle. And this time? Yet again it was the second leg of a Round of 16 tie with Arsenal as opponents, and yet again FCB held a two-goal lead from the first leg. But this time there were no scares. “We were never in danger of going out. It was a commanding performance,” declared Thomas Müller, summing up the 1-1 draw that takes FCB through to the last eight.
The stats reflect the superiority of FCB over the team lying third in the Premier League, as FCB had 14 to 7 shots on goal, 27 to 11 crosses, and 67 percent possession. “We did very well overall,” said Arjen Robben. Manuel Neuer added: “All in all, I think we deserved to go through and we can be happy.” Even Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, whose team had to make up a two-goal deficit, admitted: “We didn’t really manage to put them under pressure.”
Pep Guardiola left the Allianz Arena “very happy”. The plans of the FCB head coach - to keep Arsenal out of the game, avoid losing the ball, and stifle the Gunners’ counter-attacks - all came off. “We wanted to control the game and we achieved that,” said Guardiola, “we succeeded in minimising our mistakes and we played at a very high level. Except for the goal we conceded, which could have been ruled out for a foul, nothing else happened. It’s all good.”
“We didn’t give anything away, we created a lot but sadly didn’t manage to score,” was Robben’s analysis of the Reds’ dominance that lacked only the killer finish. “We often got to the by-line but didn’t play the final ball,” said Guardiola.
As to the play, Bastian Schweinsteiger gave FCB an overdue lead on 54 minutes. Lukas Podolski put Arsenal back on level terms out of the blue three minutes later after winning the ball in somewhat dubious circumstances. “When you’re sprinting it only takes a touch and you end up stumbling - that was certainly the case here,” reported Philipp Lahm.
As Thomas Müller admitted, the equaliser “hurt a bit”. At the same time, it gave Arsenal renewed hope and they were able to compete on more equal terms. “That’s normal,” said Guardiola, “we had a few problems after they made it 1-1, but nothing serious.”
Pep Guardiola: “We were very intelligent. We wanted to stifle Arsenal’s counter-attacks and control the game. We only allowed them one chance in the first half. All Arsenal did was wait for us to lose the ball. Overall we did very well. After they made it 1-1 we had a few problems for 15 minutes, but nothing major. We’re pleased and everything’s good.“
Philipp Lahm: “We were very good in the first half. We controlled the play and stopped them creating anything - this against a very good team. But we’d already put ourselves in a great position in the first leg. We made too many errors in the second half. The game got tighter the longer it went on, so it’s important to be able to see a game through to its conclusion in situations like that.“
Bastian Schweinsteiger: “We tried to apply pressure and attack. Arsenal pulled everyone back and tried to close down the space. We looked to get at them down the flanks and our penetration was reasonably good. But we failed to score. For me personally it’s great to play 90 minutes in the Champions League against a team as good as this.“
Manuel Neuer: “Arsenal are not only a good footballing side, they battle away and they have plenty of desire. You only have to think back to the result last year. You have to be alert. But from the 80th minute we knew we could bring it home.“
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal coach): “Overall, we lost the tie at home. We needed to be creating more chances in the last 20 minutes but unfortunately we were unable to do so.“
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal scorer): “It’s always going to be tough making up a two-goal deficit against one of the best teams. We had to be creating more chances. The second goal in the first leg basically killed us off. We’re out of the competition so now we have to concentrate on the Premier League and the FA Cup.“
Bayern have one foot in the door to the Champions League quarter-finals. Following FCB’s 2-0 win at Arsenal in the first leg of the Round of 16, the holders can secure their passage to the last eight in the return leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night (Live in English from 8.45 pm CET on Twitter and fcbayern.de Web Radio), although that does depend on Pep Guardiola’s team not squandering their two-goal lead from the first leg.
“We’ll run into serious problems if we start to play for time and just sit on our lead,” warned Guardiola at Monday’s pre-match press conference. Toni Kroos knows all too well the tie with the Gunners is far from over. “2-0 is always a tricky result as we saw last year,” said the midfielder. At the same stage last term, FCB lost 2-0 at home after winning 3-1 in London and were in danger of being knocked out. “Arsenal are capable of turning round a 2-0 defeat.”
“We took away a good result from the first leg and we want to produce a solid performance to get through to the next round,” declared Thomas Müller, although he too recalled last season’s match at the Allianz Arena. “We learned a lesson and we know what happened last year. That serves as a warning,” said Müller ahead of the re-run of last term’s Round of 16 tie. However, Müller added: “I don’t expect us to lose 2-0 again.”
With ten wins in ten games since the winter break, “confidence is very high” at the treble winners according to Müller. The Reds are therefore determined not go into the game against the third-placed team in the Premier League “with any lack of focus. We have to get stuck into challenges straight away and try to assert ourselves on the opposition by dominating possession,’ said the second-most prolific German player ever in the Champions League with 20 goals to his name to date.
Immediately after his team’s 6-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, Guardiola called for a more dominant display on Tuesday night: “We need to dominate possession.” Guardiola knows Arsenal “very well. They have the quality to hold on to the ball. We can’t afford to let Arsenal play their game. We’ve got to control the match. We’ll get through to the quarter-finals if we have the ball. If we let Arsenal have the ball, they will go through.”
The 43-year-old can hardly contain his enthusiasm when he talks about the creative players in the English side including skipper Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil. “Anything can happen when they have the ball given their qualities in midfield.” The Gunners have nothing to lose after defeat in the first leg and they will look to put in a performance in Munich. “It’s like a final for Arsenal, so their players will give 100 percent. I expect them to produce a top performance.”
Guardiola selects from close to a full squad. All his players are available with the exception of Holger Badstuber and 18 will make it onto the UEFA team sheet on Tuesday night. Mario Götze is expected to return to the squad after being rested for the Wolfsburg game at the weekend. It remains to be seen who will make way for the versatile forward. Guardiola is certainly playing his cards close to his chest in terms of the line-up.
“You definitely want to be first out of the blocks in games like this,” said Müller. He and Mario Mandzukic did their chances of a start against the Gunners no harm by grabbing a brace each at Wolfsburg. Guardiola has a wealth of options at his disposal at the start of the business end of the season. He even joked about no player being injured when it comes to the knockout stages of the Champions League. “I don’t know why but they’re all always fit – here and at every other big club.”
As always at this stage of the season, there is no let-up for the stars. The club’s internationals returned to the Säbener Strasse facility on Thursday afternoon - and immediately took up preparations for Saturday’s Bundesliga trip to face VfL Wolfsburg (kick-off 3.30 pm). Pep Guardiola split his men into three groups for the late afternoon workout: one group completed a full-on session, others stuck to regeneration with a few gentle laps of the training ground. The third group reported to the performance centre and appointments with the club’s physios.
In terms of injuries and team selection the news was overwhelmingly positive. Thomas Müller resumed the full team programme on Thursday after shaking off a strain. Franck Ribéry and Xherdan Shaqiri, who both made brief appearances for their national teams the previous evening, are definitely in contention for the squad to face Wolfsburg. “I felt good. It was good to get a few minutes against the Netherlands. It’s got me back into match rhythm. I’m ready to play,” Ribéry declared.
Pep Guardiola: “Our rhythm and our performance in the first half were very good. Congratulations to my team. Our lead has gone up by another point and we’re closer to retaining the German championship.“
Arjen Robben: “All credit to the team. We really enjoyed it today. We played with so much passion. It was one of the best halves of football I’ve seen since joining Bayern. What pace, what aggression. Schalke never got into the match. We overran them in the first half. At the end of the day it’s not about records, it’s about trophies. We have to maintain our rhythm for the big games that are coming up.“
