FC Bayern improved from last season, and they can still get even better
Bayern Munich hasn’t won the Champions League in five years, their runs usually concluding at the Quarterfinals stage. With their current form, they are a favorite to win the competition. They’ve improved since last year, so Harry Kane looks at what’s changed (via the Bundesliga’s website as captured by X account @iMiaSanMia).
“Even though PSG didn’t finish in the top eight and they won the competition, I think not finishing in the top eight had quite a big impact on our season,” Kane said. “We had to play a lot of games in a short period of time and the squad was down to its last numbers at the time with the injuries that we had. I think that played a big role, so going into this year, we really wanted to make sure that the top eight was a priority to avoid having the extra games.
“In terms of the games in general, we had a lot of good games,” Kane continued. “The Leverkusen home and away knockout games were really good and even though we lost at home to Inter Milan, I felt like we had a really dominant performance and we should have come out with a better result. We obviously then had the disappointment away in the San Siro, but we took a lot of experience from it, and we’ve improved the way we play in certain moments.”
Misfortune seems to fall upon the Bavarians at the worst possible time during the knockout stages. PSG in 2021 (away goals), Villarreal after that (the late goal), then Manchester City (completely fell apart), Real Madrid (ugh), and Inter (that midfielder is the reason why Bayern lost, and this is a Bayern player). There’s always that one moment that ensures Bayern’s elimination. One such moment didn’t guarantee elimination from the knockouts, but it was a massive wake-up call: the Barcelona match.
“Looking back to the Barcelona away game, after that moment I feel like we improved a lot defensively without the ball and we’ve carried that into this year as well,” Kane explained. “Ultimately, the Champions League is really tough to win because you have to be at the highest level and you have to take your moments when they come. That’s what we’re hoping to do this year.”
Category: General Sports
