FC Bayern Munchen News

A bullet header from Joshua Kimmich saw Bayern Munich win 1-0 in their Champions League quarter-final second leg, claiming a 3-2 aggregate victory and knocking Arsenal out of the competition.

The return leg did not quite have the drama of the first at the Emirates, where the game ended in a 2-2 draw, but the Germans took advantage of a moment of lax Arsenal defending.

Kimmich powered home his effort just after the hour to see the Gunners beaten, suffering another blow to their hopes of silverware this season after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Super Sunday.

Bayern will face either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the semi-finals, with the tie set to take place on April 30 or May 1 and May 7 or 8.

How Bayern knocked out Arsenal

Despite a goalless first half, both teams had chances. The hosts went close around the 20-minute mark, when Ben White was needed to make a vital clearance from Noussair Mazraoui’s dangerous cross.

David Raya was then needed to keep out a long-range effort from Jamal Musiala, with Bayern’s main goal threat – Harry Kane – registering just one touch in the opposition box.

But Arsenal soon began to kick into gear, as Manuel Neuer saved from Martin Odegaard, needing a second touch to keep the ball from going out for a corner.

But Arsenal’s best chance of the half came when Martinelli connected with Odegaard’s cross, but his shot went straight at the goalkeeper.

Immediately after the break, Bayern hit the post twice. Leon Goretzka’s header smacked the woodwork with Raya beaten. Raphael Guerreiro’s follow up was then put onto the upright by William Saliba.

And just after the hour, the hosts broke the deadlock. Guerriero picked up a loose ball on the left of the area. He lifted his head with enough time to spot the run of Kimmich from deep – losing his marker Martinelli – with the German nodding a powerful header past Raya.

After going behind, Arsenal couldn’t quite rediscover their momentum. There were a few half chances, while Musiala went closest at the other end for Bayern, but it was ultimately Kimmich’s header that decided the tie.

Opta stats – Bayern reach another semi-final

• Bayern Munich have reached their 13th UEFA Champions League semi-final, with only Real Madrid reaching more.
• Arsenal have lost eight UEFA Champions League matches against Bayern Munich, two more than they’ve lost against any other side.
• Five of Joshua Kimmich’s last seven UEFA Champions League goals for Bayern Munich have come in the knockout stages (two in semi-finals, three in quarter-finals). Tonight’s goal was only his second in his last 32 appearances in the competition, his other also coming against an English side in a home quarter-final tie (April 2023 vs Man City).

What’s next?

Arsenal look to reignite their Premier League title hopes at Wolves on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 7.30pm.

Bayern visit FC Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday April 20, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 5.30pm.

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Mikel Arteta believes Champions League success against Bayern Munich will take Arsenal to the next level as he told his players to ‘write a different story’ at the Allianz Arena.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has launched a robust defence of his training methods, insisting Eric Dier was wide of the mark when he claimed the Australian lacks tactical focus in preparing to face opposition.  

Dier, 30, initially joined Bayern on loan in January in a deal to the end of the season, reuniting with former team-mate Harry Kane, before the Bundesliga club made the move permanent in March when he completed the required number of appearances mentioned in his contract.

Having won the Bundesliga 11 years in a row, Bayern were deposed as champions last weekend when Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen were crowned winners of the German domestic title.

Despite that disappointment, Dier is enjoying his new life in Bavaria under former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel – and the versatile defender recently passed judgment on former manager Postecoglou’s coaching methods.

“Interestingly, he really doesn’t do any tactical work (in training),” Dier said, speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet.

“What he does is, every single training drill from Monday to Friday is drawn up to represent the way that he wants to play.

“[Antonio] Conte, I could do it blind, but that was a lot of tactical work Monday to Friday, a lot of 10 versus zero, walkthroughs. You were so well drilled, it would be engrained in you.”

When the player’s comments were put to Postecoglou, the Spurs boss said: “It’s probably something you’d have to ask Eric, I don’t know what you mean by tactical work. Everything we do is geared on how we are going to play our football, so for me by extension is tactical work.

“Whether that’s on us, or whether it’s on the opposition. In fact I would probably say we don’t do anything apart from tactical work.

“That’s all we do every day. If we’re working on our fitness, we’re still trying to play our football.

“But I haven’t seen the interview so I’m not sure what he’s referencing. If you’re talking about do we do training where we’re standing around and working on how we’re going to stop an opposition, how we’re going to break down, no we don’t do that.

“But I don’t think that’s the only kind of tactical work that exists. I think anyone who trains with us will tell you that all we do is train the way we play. Maybe that’s not tactical work, I don’t know!”

Ange: Kane didn’t leave Spurs just to win titles

Dier made just four Premier League appearances this season under Postecoglou before he was allowed to leave in January following a decade at the club.

During his time there, Tottenham were twice runners-up in the EFL Cup, while they also lost the Champions League final to Liverpool in 2019.

Under Mauricio Pochettino in 2015/16 and 2016/17, Dier was also part of a Spurs squad that was in the title race before falling away late in the campaign.

In pursuit of silverware, he has teamed up with Kane once more at Bayern but the pair could again miss out of a major trophy this term. Postecoglou believes in Kane’s case it is premature to view his move to Germany as a failure based on Leverkusen’s domestic title.

“No, I don’t think that’s fair,” added the Spurs boss when asked if Kane will be judged on trophies.

“I’m not going to speak for Harry, for God’s sake. But I don’t think that’s the only reason he left. I think he was pretty clear that he wanted a different experience and I think there’s nothing wrong with that.

“That’s been my whole career. He was at one club for a very long time. He was at a point where he either makes a decision to stay and become a one-club man, which is fair enough.

“Or he can experience something different as a footballer, maybe as a person. I don’t know. These are questions for him. But I don’t get this notion that he just moved just to win things.

“I don’t think if he had stayed here he didn’t think he was going to win things. I just think he wanted a different experience and he’s getting that.

“I’m sure at the end of his career, if that was his reasoning behind it, he’ll find that it does. It gives you a real broad experience about what football is about, what life is about.

“I don’t think that’s fair on him. Ultimately all these decisions you make about your personal career… I know every decision I’ve made in my career, it’s very hard for other people sometimes to understand because they’re not living my life. They’re not with my family or with the people around me to know why you come to these decisions.

“They’re very rarely around too many simplistic things. Most of the time there’s a whole range of factors that you put into it.”

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Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane believes Tottenham fans will be hoping he can knock out his former club’s fierce rivals Arsenal in the Champions League – despite a Gunners victory actually helping Spurs.

Tottenham’s Champions League qualification hopes took a big dent over the weekend after their 4-0 defeat at Newcastle saw them slip out of the top four into fifth place.

Yet fifth spot could be enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League if the Premier League earns one of the two extra places available through UEFA’s coefficient system, which is decided on performance in Europe this season.

But England’s top flight (16.750) is currently missing out on an extra spot with Germany narrowly ahead of them in second (16.785), while Italy (18.428) are all but assured of a place.

An Arsenal victory over Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final – which is finely poised following the 2-2 first-leg draw – would significantly improve England’s chances of securing an extra place in next season’s competition.

It leaves Spurs fans in an awkward position over whether they should be cheering on their arch rivals against Bayern.

When questioned about potentially hurting Spurs’ chances of Champions League qualification with a win over Arsenal, Kane joked: “I don’t really know how to answer that!”

But Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer believes his former fans will be wanting him to help end the Gunners’ pursuit of a first European Cup.

He later added in the pre-match press conference: “Of course I know there will be a lot of Spurs fans watching hoping Bayern Munich go through tomorrow night.

“I can’t focus on that. All I can do is try and beat the team in front of us, and that’s Arsenal.”

Kane: Bayern season a failure without Champions League win

Kane admits the season will be a failure if Bayern Munich do not win the Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen romped to the Bundesliga title at the weekend, ending Bayern’s run of 11 straight league trophies and leaving them with only Europe’s highest honour to play for.

While Kane has excelled individually, his wait to win a team trophy after more than a decade without one at Tottenham could well continue.

The England captain said: “Of course every player, every club wants to win trophies, that’s the ultimate goal every season, but there’s a process into winning, there’s a process individually and in the team.

“You want to improve as a player every year, you want to show the world your capabilities and you want to push yourself to the very limits and you hope that helps with the team.

“Of course, from the club’s point of view it will be a failed season if we don’t win anything this year because we’re expected to win but all we can do is take that into next year and try and turn that around.

“The main thing for us is we still have an opportunity to turn this season into a great season if we win the Champions League. That motivation is still there and as players you can only hang onto that. If we can do something special tomorrow night then of course that keeps that hope alive.

“It’s a time to raise our game, it’s a time for me and the players who have been in big situations, pressure situations, to step up and be counted. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. There’s a lot of expectation but I think there’s a good belief among the squad that we can achieve something tomorrow.”

State of play: The race for the extra Champions League spot

The quarter-finals of this year’s European competitions are only at the midway point, but England’s hopes of pipping Germany in the race for an extra Champions League spot look set to go down to the wire.

The Premier League still has a 57.8 per cent chance of claiming the bonus Champions League spot, according to Opta. However, those chances have been declining, plummeting 13 per cent after last week’s results.

With Germany and England neck-and-neck in that race, each win, draw and qualification for the next rounds is huge.

Each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gets you one, and you get nothing for a defeat. There are also bonus points for getting to certain stages, so if Borussia Dortmund overturn their Champions League first-leg 2-1 deficit to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, that will give Germany a further bonus point in their ranking.

Tottenham and Aston Villa fans will be watching closely in the hope Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid can do them a favour.

Victories for Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta over West Ham and Liverpool respectively in the Europa League this week could also prove crucial in the coefficient race.

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