Thanks to the 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart last Friday, league leaders Bayern Munich remain eight points ahead of the Werkself. The win against the Swabians followed a 4-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt for the team led by coach Vincent Kompany. FC Bayern did not make a good start in the South Germany clash. "Stuttgart were clearly better for the first half hour," admitted Kompany.
The hosts deservedly took a lead with a long-range effort. Bayern equalised just before half-time with a goal from Michael Olise. Leon Goretzka (64') put FCB ahead in the second half, and Kingsley Coman sealed the win at 3-1 on 90 minutes. "We believed we could turn the game round," said captain Manuel Neuer as he praised the team spirit: "We've achieved that as a team." And Vincent Kompany also lauded his players: "We grew into the game and we were very dangerous in the second half. That's how games go sometimes. We defended well and showed a lot of character at the end that enabled us to get the win."
Neuer set to make ucl appearance 150
Ahead of the game in Stuttgart, FC Bayern celebrated their 125th anniversary at the Paulaner Nockherberg in Munich with numerous club legends and VIPs from the worlds of sport, politics and culture. And it was fitting that club president Herbert Hainer was able to announce a new record: FC Bayern have passed the 400,000 member milestone and is again the the club in the world with the most members just ahead of Benfica. Bayern Munich have also recently issued squad updates: The contracts with key players Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala and Manuel Neuer have all been extended. The Bayern keeper is set to make his 150th appearance in the Champions League against Bayer 04 on Wednesday. That will make him the second goalkeeper to achieve that number of appearances in the Champions League following on from Iker Casillas (177 appearances).
Celtic was hard work
Celtic made Bayern work hard in the Champions League play-offs. After a 2-1 away win in Scotland, progress to the last 16 was achieved by a laboured 1-1 draw at home. Substitute Alphonso Davies saved his team from extra time with an equaliser on 90+4 and thereby scored a slot in the Round of 16. Bayern Munich were in the play-offs after finishing twelfth in the league phase after games against Dinamo Zagreb (9-2), Aston Villa (0-1), Barcelona (1-4), Benfica (1-0), Paris St. Germain (1-0), Shakhtar Donetsk (5-:1), Feyenoord (0-3) and Slovan Bratislava (3-1).
Kimmich should be available
Bayern Munich play the Werkself for the fourth time this season on Wednesday with the first meeting on the international stage. The first three clashes between the two teams produced two draws in the Bundesliga (1-1, 0-0) and a win for the Black and Reds in Munich in the Round of 16 in the DFB Pokal (1-0). That is the only home defeat for Bayern so far this season. And they were very close to defeat at the BayArena two weeks ago in the 0-0 draw. Bayer 04 dominated the match but missed good chances and were unlucky with two shots against the woodwork. The visitors did not produce a single shot on the Leverkusen goal throughout the whole game.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany will definitely have to manage without goalkeeper Daniel Peretz for the first leg in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. The former Werkself player Joseph Stanisic came on for a few minutes against Stuttgart after recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis. Joshua Kimmich, who was sidelined for that game, should return to the starting line-up on Wednesday. There are question marks over defender Sacha Boey and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic who both missed the game in Stuttgart due to illness.
Whichever Bayern team plays: "We go into the game against Leverkusen in positive mood, we beat Frankfurt 4-0 and now won 3-1 in Stuttgart – it couldn't be any better," said Manuel Neuer. But the captain does know: "What faces us in the Champions League is at another level. But we're looking forward to the games."
