The Munich arena turned into a party zone on Sunday evening while the flood of good news didn’t seem to end.
75,000 fans celebrated Jamal Musiala’s 20-year-old birthday, Senegal star Sadio Mane’s return after a three-month injury break, Thomas Muller’s 650th game in the Bavarians shirt, and not to speak of the frame-setting 3-0 victory against league rival Union Berlin.
Having passed a crucial national league exam only 10 days ahead of the second leg of the last-16 duel in the UEFA Champions League against Paris Saint Germain triggered excitement around the 2020 treble winner.
In-house struggles suddenly seemed to vanish as the club’s chairman’s demand to tighten the reins fell on fruitful soil.
“We can’t allow us any setbacks as we face a tight national title race,” Oliver Kahn said, calling it paramount to having defended the tableau’s top spot ahead of the new runner-up Borussia Dortmund.
Julian Nagelsmann reported about a decisive team meeting last week “when the players talked things through without their coach.”
The Bayern coach spoke of the team having outlined the season goals followed by a determined performance. 102 scored season goals make the Germans the currently most successful side among the top five European leagues.
The goal setting seems to have encouraged the entire squad after Kahn demanded from the players to take responsibility. The official spoke about a “Bayern-like performance and reaction.”
In time, German international Joshua Kimmich, Kingsley Coman, and silverback Muller turned into team-leading forces pushing their colors forward. Winger Coman continued his stunning journey over the past weeks. Nagelsmann called the French international “one of the best in the world.”
Muller spoke about a performance close to “what is our claim” and a rest-of-season guideline “we want to follow in the same efficient way.”
While fans enthusiastically celebrated Mane’s return after 110 days due to an injury that made the former Liverpool striker miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Africa’s 2022 footballer of the year spoke of an “entirely happy day.”
The 25 on-pitch minutes “are an important step for me after a long journey,” the forward stated. The 30-year-old announced to use the upcoming days to reach the full shape to face French giant Paris on home soil at the beginning of March.
Bayern is enjoying the advantage of a 1-0 victory out of the first leg.
“We all have a common goal this season as we want to make it to the Champions League final in Istanbul,” Mane said adding his side has taken a promising path to meet the expressed goals of playing passionate football. ■
