Thomas Muller says Bayern Munich saved season by hunting Martin Odegaard 'like a dog' in win over Arsenal
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Thomas Muller has credited Konrad Laimer’s marking job on Martin Odegaard with helping turn Bayern Munich’s season around.
The German giants have failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign, with their domestic troubles meaning Thomas Tuchel will leave his job at the end of the season.
However, there is still a chance for Tuchel and Bayern to end the season on the ultimate high, as they remain firmly in the hunt to lift the Champions League trophy.
Bayern drew 2-2 with Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final tie at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, a result that leaves them still believing they can book their place in the final at Wembley.
Tuchel’s side beat Arsenal in the quarter-finals, a narrow 1-0 win in Munich enough for victory on aggregate, and Muller believes team-mate Laimer lifted the mood in the squad with his efforts to keep Odegaard unusually quiet.
“The games and the win over Arsenal gave us a little bit of self-confidence,” Muller told CBS Sports.
“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.”
Joshua Kimmich scored the only goal in Bayern’s second-leg win over Arsenal last month, but Tuchel was keen to single out Laimer for praise when asked after the match what he was most proud of.
“The team performance, and I’m very proud of Konni [Laimer] too,” Tuchel said.
“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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