The ongoing Champions League campaign is going to check Bayern Munich’s squad strength and Julian Nagelsmann’s coaching pedigree. Bayern Munich is on track to emulate Real Madrid’s pathway to Champions League glory in 2022.
The Bavarian club has been included in the difficult side of the road to the final in Istanbul. Die Roten will face Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the competition. Rekordmeister will face Real Madrid or Chelsea in the semi-final if they manage to beat the defending Premier League champions.
Earlier this season, Bayern also had to beat Inter Milan and Barcelona to secure the top spot in the group stage. Beating the best is the mantra for Die Roten this season to bring the trophy back to Allianz Arena for the fourth time this century.
After a flawless set of results in the group stage, Bayern came up against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16. The Bavarian club clinched a narrow 1-0 win away in Paris during the first leg. In the return leg, Die Roten showed efficiency across both boxes to register a 2-0 victory. It was a comfortable 3-0 victory on aggregate for Bayern against the French champions.
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Real Madrid also won their record 14th UCL title through a difficult route to the final. They had to beat PSG and Chelsea in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively. The Spanish giants had to beat Manchester City in the semi-final to set up a final against Liverpool in Paris. Real Madrid showed a great mentality to bounce back from big setbacks on the road to the final. They suffered at times but showed great efficiency in the final third to punish teams.
Bayern showed a similar fight against PSG in the round of 16. They defended brilliantly to keep Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi quiet in both games. Last-ditch tackles and off-the-line clearances made sure that Die Roten was ready to put everything on the pitch to get the victory.
Julian Nagelsmann will need a similar level of effectiveness and fight from the team to beat Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Pep Guardiola will return to Allianz Arena for the first time since leaving Bavaria in 2016. Man City dominate possession, so Die Roten will have to do a lot of work out of possession and make the most of their chances to book a place in the semi-final.
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The first leg of the quarter-final will take place in Manchester on April 11. The return leg in Munich will take place a week later on April 19. For now, Bayern will switch their attention to the Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.