Bayern Munich stoic after Champions League elimination: ‘Lucky to have gotten this far.’ | OneFootball

The 2-2 draw at the San Siro that saw Bayern Munich eliminated from the Champions League naturally left those associated with the club disappointed. Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, board-member-for-sport Max Eberl, head coach Vincent Kompany, and starter Joshua Kimmich all commented on the result afterward. The Bundesliga giants must contend with the fact that they’ve missed out on the opportunity to contest the final in their home stadium.

“We all had this dream of reaching the final at home and winning the title at home,” Dressen remarked in the mixed zone. “That dream is now over. And we are all sad about it. Ultimately, that was the big objective wee shared. We probably lost this duel with the second goal we conceded in Munich [last week].”

“We need to process this,” Dreesen continued. “The Champions League is the cherry on top of the cake, not the cake itself. The cake is the league title and we’ve still got five games to go.“

Kompany wished to point out – as he did after last weekend’s 2-2 league draw against Dortmund – that he felt his team was still largely performing well. For the Belgian, it was once again a case of his team producing plenty of scoring opportunities that simply didn’t bear fruit.

“I’ve mixed feelings because I saw a good Bayern Munich in both [UCL quarterfinal] games,” Kompany said. “The harsh reality is that we don’t get to play the final at home. There are more trophies to chase [the Bundesliga and the Club World Cup], but now it’s of course tough.”

Top personnel executive Max Eberl – attracting some heat due to the fact that he still hasn’t delivered Bayern a trophy over a year into his appointment – remained combative when asked about the topic. Like Dreesen, Eberl emphasised that the league title was coming.

“We will go for it again [next year],” Eberl noted. “Now the focus is being ready again on Saturday [away at] Heidenheim to at least secure the league title.“

Joshua Kimmich, a member of the last Bayern side to win take the Champions League crown under current Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick in the autumn of 2020, took the elimination stoically. The 30-year-old noted that Bayern simply weren’t good enough this year.

“We were actually lucky to get this far with so many defeats,” Kimmich said. “Far too many defeats. We need to improve significantly in terms of efficiency and vulnerability, especially in the big games.”

GGFN | Peter Weis