Bayern buoyed by ‘liberating’ victory

BERLIN: Bayern Munich travel to Greece to face AEK Athens in the Champions League today boosted by a Bundesliga win that “felt like a liberation” after their miserable run of form and a stormy week behind the scenes.

The pressure was mounting on the German champions and new coach Niko Kovac during a fourmatch winless run to the extent that senior club figures including Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness launched a stunning attack on the media.

But Saturday’s 3-1 win over Wolfsburg, in which Robert Lewandowski scored twice to end a five-game goal drought, is being hailed as a potential turning point for Bayern’s season.

“That felt like a liberation,” said centre-back Mats Hummels, while sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was equally relieved, saying: “We have shown character in a difficult phase.”

The tension had been ratcheted up on Friday when Rummenigge, Hoeness and Salihamidzic slammed the press for “disgusting and respectless” reporting of Bayern’s poor performances in recent weeks, singling out German journalists to scold.

Saturday’s three points provided some calm at the Allianz Arena, but the pressure is still on Kovac heading to Athens, after a 1-1 home draw with Ajax last time out in Europe left Bayern’s Group E hopes in the balance. Bayernave never lost a Champions League game in Greece with three wins and a draw.