After what has been a disappointing Bundesliga season by Bayern Munich’s extremely high standards, the club are still holding on to hopes of Champions League glory.
Bayer Leverkusen’s rise in the German top flight appears to have caught Bayern off guard but manager Thomas Tuchel and his side still have the opportunity of doing something special in Europe’s elite club competition.
Leverkusen Have Laid Down The Challenge
With former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso in charge, Bayer Leverkusen are on course to land a first Bundesliga title since 2011. Bayern, who are 7/1 in the Champions League betting to lift the trophy this season, were simply unable to keep up with a relentless Leverkusen. A bet on football games has Bayern out at 25/1 to cause a major upset and pip Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title but it would take a complete collapse from Alonso’s side. The hierarchy at the Allianz Arena will take a long look at what has gone wrong domestically this season and how they can overcome the challenge Leverkusen have laid down next term.
Those questions will have to wait, as manager Tuchel still has plenty of football to oversee before he moves on from the club at the end of the season. Tuchel’s time at Bayern has been a turbulent one but there is still a chance to do something special with the Bavarian giants before his departure. The former Chelsea manager helped the Premier League side win the Champions League during his time at Stamford Bridge and the German tactician will be determined to repeat the feat as a parting gift to Bayern.
Arsenal Test The First Step
Drawn against Premier League title contenders Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals, Bayern must first overcome the Gunners over two legs, before a potential showdown with either Real Madrid or Manchester City in the semi-finals. It’s certainly the most difficult side of the draw that Bayern have found themselves on and, if they did manage to go all the way to be crowned champions of Europe, nobody could claim they had an easy route to the final.
Arsenal’s previous Champions League campaign was back in 2017 but despite that lengthy spell out of the competition they have looked impressive. Overcoming the likes of Sevilla, Lens and PSV Eindhoven to reach the knockout stages, the Gunners then edged out Porto in the last 16. Bayern have had their own hurdles to overcome in the tournament, beating Galatasaray, Manchester United and FC Copenhagen to make the last 16. Breezing past a potential banana skin in the form of Lazio, Bayern will be hoping their wealth of recent Champions League experience will hold them in good stead for the remainder of the challenges to come.
After a disappointing Bundesliga campaign, Bayern’s focus will be on trying to bring their fans joy in the Champions League. As six-time winners, the Bavarian club has a rich history in the competition and could do with some more special nights at the Allianz Arena in the remainder of the season.
