Will FC Bayern’s mixed season, including the sacking of the coach, turn into a successful one after all? A TV expert now explains what can give the German record champions courage for the Champions League.
„FC Bayern mastered the task against Lazio with aplomb,“ is how Dietmar Hamann assessed Munich’s performance in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 in his Sky column. „It gives me hope for Munich that Gnabry and Davies are back after their injuries and that Coman might be back after the international break,“ said the 50-year-old with an unusually optimistic tone towards the German record champions.
Hamann: „Anything is possible“ for Bayern in the quarter-finals
The aforementioned Serge Gnabry and Alphonso Davies celebrated their comeback with an exclamation mark. Serge Gnabry was allowed to whirl around for just under half an hour in the 8:1 win against Mainz in his own stadium, scoring a remarkable goal with his heel. „For the first time this season, there is competition in the squad,“ said Hamann, which he considers „incredibly important“. If Bayern perform like they have recently, then „anything is possible“ for FCB in the quarter-finals, the former midfielder predicts.
On Friday 15 March, it will also be clear who Tuchel’s team will face in the quarter-finals of the top flight. The TV pundit emphasised Harry Kane as the „decisive factor“ in Munich winning the title. „When you have a striker like him, you gain extra respect from your opponents. The knockout games against strong opponents are the games in which he is needed,“ said Hamann, explaining his theory.
A „strong opponent“ is virtually pre-programmed for Thomas Tuchel’s team, because with Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, Borussia Dortmund from Germany, FC Arsenal and Manchester City from England as well as the former Champions League final opponent, Paris Saint-Germain, there are only high-calibre opponents left in the current competition.
