Bayern Munich players and management believe they "have a good chance" of advancing despite a tricky bracket. The Champions League Round of 16 draw, which took place in Nyon on Friday, revealed Atalanta as Bayern's next obstacle on their "Road to Budapest".
Sporting Director Christoph Freund praised Atalanta but remained confident in the team's ability to pull through. Since Bayern have not played Atalanta in Europe, Freund is excited to see how Bayern fare against a team that will press aggressively.
Bayern Munich avoided last year's all-German Round of 16 rematch with Bayer Leverkusen, who will face league leaders Arsenal on the opposite side of the bracket.
Christoph Freund: "This will be a very interesting match against a top Italian team. We've never played against each other before and are really looking forward to the tie. The playoffs against Dortmund showed how strong Atalanta are at home; they can apply a lot of pressure,… pic.twitter.com/umyqxWvXuB
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) February 27, 2026
Former Bayer Leverkusen captain and now Bayern centre-back Jonathan Tah spoke out on the missed opportunity for a reunion. Tah also mentioned how good a team Atalanta is and said Bayern should focus on winning both legs to advance. The German international is rightly cautious, as Atalanta was the only team to defeat his Leverkusen in their historic undefeated season.
Similarly, captain Manuel Neuer highlighted the quality of Atalanta by pointing to their comeback win over Dortmund in the playoffs earlier this week. Atalanta clinched 4-1 win in the second leg against Dortmund to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
While the focus should be on Atalanta at the moment, let's take a quick glance at what could happen in the further stages of the competition. Should Bayern Munich defeat the Italian side, they will face much tougher challenges.
✨ 𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙍𝙊𝘼𝘿 𝙏𝙊 𝘽𝙐𝘿𝘼𝙋𝙀𝙎𝙏 ✨ pic.twitter.com/VQDJ7cqiW9
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) February 27, 2026
Bayern's side of the bracket consists of all the latest European champions: Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Liverpool, as well as gritty Galatasaray.
Manchester City/Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and PSG/Chelsea/Liverpool/Galatasaray in the semifinals could be one of the best Champions League runs of all time. Priority for Bayern in the Champions League right now is to focus on winning games against Atalanta instead of looking too far ahead. There is certainly excitement in the Bavarian faithful after seeing the draw, since there will be several heavyweight clashes if Bayern go deep in the competition.
There is no easy game from now on for Bayern. But with the quality in hand, Vincent Kompany has the right to be confident. Bayern have a great chance of winning a treble this season since they are alive in all competitions while entering the final three months of the season. The draw in the Champions League is a tricky one, but to be the best, you have to beat the best.