Say what you want about about Thomas Tuchel’s domestic record – Bayern Munich’s decade-long stranglehold over the Bundesliga trophy ended by Xabi Alonso’s brilliant Borussia Dortmund – when it comes to one-off, straight-shooting European ties, there are still few better.
Bayern, just three days after Leverkusen secured the first domestic title in their history, bounced back from that disappointment in quite some style.
A 1-0 victory over Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at the Allianz Arena – the can can ringing around a jubilant stadium after Joshua Kimmich’s thumping header – and suddenly a season which looked destined to end in failure and dejection could yet result in Bayern being crowned Champions of Europe.
Arsenal exit Champions League at Bayern Munich
“It means a lot to me that we’ve gone through. It was fun,” former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund coach Tuchel told DAZN at full-time, looking to reach the Champions League final for the third time in four years.
“The first half was like a chess game. Who makes the first mistake? Who makes the first move? Nobody wanted to. The second half was much better. We showed courage and deserved to win in the end.”
Bayern restricted Arsenal to just three shots on target throughout the second leg, mustering double the number of attempts on goal. While there will obviously be concerns that The Gunners are hitting the metaphorical wall once again in the final stretch of an exhausting season – a previously free-scoring Arsenal side have now drawn a blank in three of their last six games – Bayern deserve much credit for keeping the visitors at arms’ length.
“I’m proud of the performance of the team,” adds Tuchel, highlighting the tenacious man-marking job Konrad Laimer did on Arsenal’s ineffective playmaker Martin Odegaard in the centre of the park and Noussair Mazraoui’s fine display up against Bukayo Saka.
“I’m particularly proud of Konny, who was glued to Odegaard. “Nous (Mazraoui) was also very good on the left. But we knew we could only do it as a team.”
With the two remaining Premier League representatives bowing out at the last-eight stage – Real Madrid avenged last year’s 4-0 thrashing by knocking treble-winners Manchester City out on penalties – Bayern will go head to head with their former boss Carlo Ancelotti in the semi-finals, with Borussia Dortmund taking on PSG in the other section.
Arsenal, at least, will have the chance to bounce back from their Bavarian disappointment with a return to the Champions League awaiting Arteta and co next season.
Martin Odegaard ineffective in Bavaria
“I mean it takes a little bit to get going again, but I think what you play for in the league is enough motivation for all of us,” he said.
“So we just have to stick together, get back up, and keep pushing. We can still do something very special.
“I think that is enough motivation to just keep going, keep working hard and pushing each other. We have to keep going. Every game now is so important, it has been for a while. It has been so tight and so competitive.”
Kimmich headed home in the second half after Arsenal had enjoyed the best of a tense first 45 minutes, in which Gabriel Martinelli wasted the best chance for the visitors.
Bayern now go on to face Real Madrid in the last four after the LaLiga giants beat City on penalties, meaning there is no English club in the semi-finals for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
Bayern face Real Madrid in semi-finals
“I think it was, again, a very tight game,” Odegaard tells The Independent, Arsenal once again paying for the lack of a reliable number nine, just like against Aston Villa on Sunday. “I think you see it in front of the goals, that’s where we lost the tie. It was a bit similar to the home game.
“We gave away a very easy goal today and we are not sharp enough in front of the opponent’s goal. That’s where the games are decided and that’s where we lost the game.
“We wanted to do more, so at the moment we are just disappointed. It has been a long time since we have been here (in the Champions League), but at the moment it is disappointing.
“We wanted to go further. We wanted to go all the way. First of all, we are disappointed, but I think we have done something good as well.”
Arsenal edged past FC Porto on penalties in the round-of-16, and they exit the competition without really having proven themselves against the continent’s elite teams.
“Every time you get hit, you have to stand up and go again,” Odegaard adds. “The key thing is to stand together and lift each other up. Then, as I said, we have something really nice to play for, so that’s where we have to put the mindset now.
“Of course we want to win something and that’s been the big goal. But I think we can’t look too far ahead, we have to take it day by day, and game by game.
“First of all, now we have to lift each other up and we have to get ready for the next game. Then we move on from there.”