Thomas Muller has reflected of Bayern Munich’s relaxed mindset heading into their Champions League semi-final with Barcelona.
The Germans are at home for Tuesday night’s first leg tie, before heading out to Spain for the return leg eight days after.
For their midfielder, a run of 19 wins from the last 20 games in all competitions has Bayern in confident mood.
“Things are really running perfectly. We're playing without a care in the world, and despite already wrapping up the title, the positive tension is very, very high,” commented Muller to Bayern’s official website today.
“Everyone's hurling himself into it. And we possess immense quality, as you can currently see in every match.
“Can we continue this run? We all know it won't always just flow like this. We'll go through different phases at some point, but for the time being we’re happy to take it as it comes.”
Bayern welcome Barca to the Allianz Arena having scored 16 goals in their last three games alone.
“Basically, there's been no other media topic apart from this match since the draw was made. Naturally, we the players had it in the back of our minds, but we only turned our undivided attention to it as of Sunday.
“We're aiming high and we're looking forward to this tough task.
“Nervous? No, I don't really feel the butterflies in my stomach until the last couple of hours or minutes before kick-off.
“If we were already nervous at this stage, building up the positive tension on Tuesday would be a problem. But obviously I'm aware it's a terrific fixture with huge public interest.”
Muller was asked if the Catalans will be wary of Bayern’s recent form.
“Barca are confident enough in themselves not to be looking at us. But they won't have failed to notice we're in scintillating form.
“We have to keep it tight at the back and keep a clean sheet at home if possible. That's the be-all and end-all if we want to make the final.
“And I really don't care whether we play pretty football or not. The only thing that matters is the result. I'm optimistic, but everyone knows it’ll hardly be a stroll.
“[The fight for possession] really will be interesting. And to be frank, I can't predict what will happen. It'll certainly depend on the course of the match – for example, who scores first?
“That would probably mean the other team had to go for it and the team with the lead would drop deep, but it's all speculation.
“Maybe David [Alaba] will blast home after just a few seconds, like he did against Juventus. That would be just fine (laughs).
“There'll definitely be a very special atmosphere. We need the fans to push us, from the first minute to the last, regardless of how it's going. That'll be extremely important.”
