Reactions to Bayern’s Champions League win over Sevilla: A stern talking-to by Heynckes

Reactions to Bayern vs Sevilla (From Abendzeitung and FCBayern.com)

Bayern Munich’s narrow win over Sevilla FC gifted Jupp Heynckes his twelfth consecutive Champions League victory as manager. The boss, although satisfied with the team’s away win, pointed out the fragility in the team’s midfield during the first half and Sevilla’s endeavor to keep the ball within their zone:

If we want to win the Champions League, we have to improve. Of coures the first half goes to Sevilla. We lost the ball far too often moving forward and were unorganized. A team like Sevilla then naturally will have chances to score. In the second half, we changed that and deservedly won.

During the halftime, Jupp gave the players a stern talking-to about what they missed in the first half and what they should deliver in the second. In a post-match interview with ZDF, he said that he wanted the team to have control of the ball in the forward movement:

We began really well and then made many mistakes in our build-up play, were not well organized. Of course, I made that very clear during halftime and ensured that the team did not lose the ball so often in moving forward.

Thomas Müller had similar thoughts when asked about the team’s performance in Seville. Nevertheless, he thinks that it is a good result for an away match. Giving away possession and allowing chances were the biggest mistakes on the captain’s radar:

It was a game with many different moments. There was a lot of good, but also things that we don’t like to see so much. At some point, we made two or three mistakes too many. Then we reacted well, came out after halftime really well. The Spaniards were driven forward by the crowd. All in all, we’re satisfied. It’s a very good result. Things look positive.

Franck Ribery, who entertained the fans by dabbing off Jesús Navas’ own goal, was a little disappointed by the team’s performance as a whole and warned the team that they should not ease off in the return leg just because the result was in their favor in Seville:

We got off to a good start in the first ten minutes, but our organisation was poor after that, we didn’t attack well. The coach addressed that at half-time. The second half was really good. It’s crucial we won away to Sevilla, they played very well, but our reaction after the opener was good. We have to build on that. We mustn’t make any mistakes in the Champions League, we mustn’t think we’re already through to the semi-finals

Sevilla’s coach Vincenzo Montella seemed rather pleased with his team’s performance despite losing at home. He explained that the team had no energy left after a fierce first half and that is the reason why they couldn’t play better in the second half. Even though it seems like it is quite impossible for Sevilla to beat Bayern at the Allianz Arena, Montella believes that they can get through if tried hard:

I’m very proud of my team’s performance against opponents playing at this level. Our defensive discipline was very good over the full 90 minutes. We should have scored a few more goals. We had no energy left to create chances in the second half. We’ll believe in going through as long as there’s a slight chance. Yes, it’s almost impossible, but it isn’t over yet.

The match in review

An intimidated Bayern Munich got past a dominating Sevilla with a thin margin by beating the Spaniards 1-2 in a dynamic first leg of the Champions league quarterfinals. Even though it was the hosts who took the lead in the 32nd minute, an own goal from Jesús Navas helped the Bavarians to equalize the scoreline before the halftime. Bayern fizzled out early and lost possession too often, which led Sevilla to create better chances in the first half of the game. Bayern, who reset their paces in the second half, displayed a better performance by the virtue of Jupp’s strong words during the halftime. The substitutions of Arturo Vidal and Juan Bernat revived the game, as stated by Jupp Heynckes. To the disappointment of 40,000 Sevilla fans in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Thiago Alcantara scored the winning goal for Die Roten a few minutes after the hour mark.

Bayern’s performance lacked quality in every aspect compared to their Der Klassiker performance. It is obvious that Jupp will put things together for the return leg. As everybody knows, Bayern is stronger at the Allianz Arena than anywhere else.

Right now, the team is concentrating on clinching the league title as they face FC Augsburg at Augsburg Arena on Saturday. As Mats Hummels quipped last week—if we cannot clinch it at home, it’s best to clinch it somewhere close to home.

Notable Numbers

Bayern Munich became the first German team to win in Seville as they eased past the Southern Spanish team on Tuesday. Thomas Müller, who has been captaining Bayern Munich in the absence of Manuel Neuer, has now won 65 out of the 96 Champions League matches, equaling the record set by former captain and legend Philipp Lahm. Seems like every single game is a new milestone for Thomas Müller!