Thomas Muller believes Bayern Munich’s victory over Arsenal – and the job his teammate Konrad Laimer did on Martin Odegaard in that game – has helped the side reach new levels in recent weeks.
While enduring a woeful domestic campaign that saw them surrender the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern are now just 90 minutes away from reaching the Champions League final after a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their semi-final against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Premier League leaders Arsenal were eliminated by the German giants in the previous round with Bayern sealing a 3-2 aggregate win despite a spate of injury problems in the squad.
In the second leg in Germany, Laimer turned in an excellent display to repeatedly thwart the Arsenal midfield, particularly Gunners skipper Odegaard, with Joshua Kimmich scoring the goal that sent his side into the final four.
Vinicius Jr opened the scoring for Real in Tuesday’s game but Bayern showed their resolve again by fighting back in the second-half with Leroy Sane drilling home a superb solo effort before Harry Kane put them ahead from the penalty spot.
While Vinicius Jr levelled the tie with a spot kick of his own, Bayern head to the Spanish capital confident of reaching their first European final in four years.
Speaking to CBS Sports after the game, Bayern legend Muller was quizzed on his side’s upturn by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.
Asked what has given Bayern belief you get to final, Muller said: ‘The games and the win over Arsenal gave us a little bit of self-confidence.
‘Not the team spirit where you go out and drink a beer together but it gave us this belief, this kind of… this Konni Laimer feeling when he is hunting Odegaard like a dog, maybe you know this story.
‘This winning feeling, it gave us a little bit more belief in ourselves to be a bit more aggressive in the last few weeks. We’re in a good mood, we are not playing perfect but we are playing better.’
Laimer’s performance in the second leg against Arsenal won widespread praise earlier this month with his manager Thomas Tuchel lauding him for neutralising Odegaard on the night.
‘Asked what he was most proud of from the match, Tuchel said: ‘The team performance, and I’m very proud of Konni [Laimer] too.
‘Of course we defended against them in the block, but Konni really stuck to Odegaard, played half a man-marker role.’
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