Rummenigge not happy with Bayern 'hype' ahead of Real return leg
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis attends a press conference in Berlin. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa Bayern Munich must not get carried away after winning 2-1 at Real Madrid because the Champions League quarter-final job still needs to be completed in Munich, former club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned. “We mustn’t make the mistake of letting too much euphoria take hold right now.
I sense a bit of hype at the moment, and to be honest, I don’t like it," Rummenigge told streaming portal DAZN ahead of Wednesday's return leg. “Real Madrid have caused us enough trouble here in Munich already; I’d like to remind everyone of that. ” Rummenigge recalled the 2014 semi-final where Bayern narrowly lost the first leg 1-0 in Madrid and then crashed 4-0 in Munich.
Record winners Real have won the last four knock-out ties against Bayern in the elite event. Bayern last progressed in the 2012 semi-finals when they also recorded their last home win against Real. "We need to put in another absolutely top-class performance next Wednesday.
We need to be fully focused, play very intelligently – and try to repeat what we showed on Tuesday,” Rummenigge said. But Rummenigge also said that Bayern, who won for the first time in 25 years in Madrid on Tuesday, have the potential to go all the way. "The atmosphere in the club reminds me of 2020 when we won the Champions League," he said.
However, he added that "it won't get any easier" in a potential semi-final because there Bayern would either face title holders Paris Saint-Germain or English champions Liverpool. “One thing must be made absolutely clear: winning the Champions League in its current form, with such depth and high-quality opposition, is becoming increasingly difficult,” Rummenigge said. Rummenigge also joined the praise on 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who made several crucial saves in Madrid, naming him "a giant.