Thomas Müller believes his team is among the strongest candidates to win the Champions League this year. However, Müller also believes that the Bavarians should be disappointed that they did not finish even higher in the standings following their triumph in 2020.
A few additional people are contenders. In a recent interview with Sport Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), Müller said, “To be honest, after the title in 2020 I thought we would be unstoppable in the next 2-3 years or at least we would be knocking on the door of the final every year.” It seemed like this: Who is this team going to stop? Regretfully, there is no confirmation of such. Of course, things are going great right now, but the title still needs us to do better.
Who has stopped Bayern in the years following 2020? In a match decided on away goals in 2021, Paris Saint-Germain defeated a tough but Robert Lewandowski-less Bayern team. The next year, Villarreal under Unai Emery pulled off a surprising upset over Bayern led by Julian Nagelsmann.
Naturally, a recently appointed Thomas Tuchel faced eventual champion Manchester City last season.
Could this be the year when Bayern finally makes a comeback to the top of the league? Müller hopes that this year won’t be the only one. Ultimately, the 2025 Final will take place in Munich, just like the 2012 Final did. The previous time the UCL Final was played in Bayern’s backyard, Uli Hoeneß famously vowed that the Bavarians had to be there, and they delivered on the pledge. Müller agreed for the following time around when asked about these remarks.
Regarding 2025, Müller responded, “Yes, I definitely see it that way.”
Bayern FC suffered a devastating loss to Chelsea FC in 2012. Could the story be rewritten in ’25, with a particular #25 still in the forefront?
Now is not the time to get ahead of ourselves too much. The 2024 campaign is still ongoing. On February 14, Bayern and Lazio will begin the opening leg of their Round of 16 match.