Heynckes: Nobody believed in Bayern

Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes recalls ‘nobody believed’ his side could reach the Champions League last four this season.

The German champions edged past Sevilla 2-1 on aggregate and will be in Friday’s draw for the last four along with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Roma.

“When I started, nobody believed Bayern Munich would reach the Champions League semi-finals,” Heynckes told a news conference, as cited by PA Sport.

“My players have lofty ambitions in the Champions League to go all the way to the final. I think we are in a good place at the moment, but you need some luck, good officials and your best form on the day.

“Sevilla were tactically good and you could see why they knocked out Manchester United in the last round. We were also lucky with the header that hit the crossbar.

“Top sides have already exited the competitions – shocks happen time and time again. We saw yesterday in Rome that you cannot afford to underestimate any side in the Champions League. Barcelona travelled to Rome and thought it would be easy. See how that turned out?

“But we had our chances too on the night and didn't get nervous despite failing to score like we normally do.

“Over the two legs, we were deserved winners with the goalless draw enough after winning the first leg 2-1 away.

“We showed fight with our performance today, I'm very happy that we didn't concede because that's something I demanded from my team. You have to keep a clean sheet in games like this.

“The goalless draw was enough for us to go through today. We didn't let ourselves get flustered and become nervous.

“Sevilla had some good moments, but sometimes you just need to keep a clean sheet. That's what I told the players and that was enough tonight.”

Tags Bayern Munich Jupp Heynckes
La Liga - Club News