Bayern eye last 16 after only two games
Reuters - Wednesday 28 September 2011, 11:20
MUNICH - Bayern Munich's 2-0
Champions League win over Manchester City on Tuesday was a key
step towards reaching the round of 16 as the Bavarians eye next
year's final in their home stadium, club officials said on
Wednesday.
Their 10th successive win in all competitions sent them top
of Group A with six points from two games and it was a
successful crash test against the team they believe are their
main group rivals.
"This was a test of our strength and we kept a clean sheet
against a very offensive team," said club CEO Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge after a brace from striker Mario Gomez earned a
deserved victory.
"We are now five points ahead of City after only two games
and six points ahead of Villarreal which means we have created
the conditions for the first step towards the round of 16,"
Rummenigge told reporters.
It may well be so but given their current form it is hard to
imagine that Bayern will have a hard time coming through the
group that also includes Napoli.
The Bavarians lost their opening Bundesliga game against
Borussia Monchengladbach in early August but have not looked
back since.
They have won six league games and four Champions League
games in a row, including two play-off matches to qualify for the
group stage, without conceding a single goal.
Testament to their new-found strength is the fact that
central defenders Jerome Boateng and Daniel van Buyten had never
been paired up before Tuesday and were only forced to do so
after Holger Badstuber was ruled out with a virus just before
the game.
"I think it worked pretty well today although it was the
first time I played with Daniel in central defence," Boateng
said.
Almost anything Bayern try out these days seems to work but
Rummenigge warned that talk of reaching the final was far too
premature.
"We would be wise to think about things step by step. The
title is awarded in May and not September so let's keep the ball
low because the Champions League really starts in the knockout
phase," he said.