|
Listen now
|
Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann says this season cannot be considered a success for Bayern after falling to making it into the Champions League semi-finals.
Bayern are on course for a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title, nine points clear of Borussia Dortmund with five games to play.
Like last season, Bayern has failed to win the DFB-Pokal and been eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage.
After being edged out by big-spending Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2020-21, underdogs Villarreal ended their European hopes this time, claiming a 1-1 draw in Germany on Tuesday to claim a 2-1 aggregate success.
Read Also: Champions League: Lewandowski nets fastest hat-trick as Bayern sink Salzburg
Nigerian born sensational striker Samuel Chukwueze’s late equaliser for Villareal saw Bayern eliminated in the last eight in the Champions League era – more than any other side.
It was the first time Bayern had failed to win consecutive matches at any stage of the competition since facing Liverpool in the last 16 in 2018-19.
On the back of that disappointment, Nagelsmann was unwilling to be complacent about the Bundesliga title race as he considered the season as a whole.
“It depends on what happens in the Bundesliga,” said Bayern coach.
“If we win that, we have matched what we did last year, which is not enough for Bayern Munich. The semi-finals should have been our minimum goal, but we’ve not done it.”
While Nagelsmann insisted the damage had been done in Spain, he ranked this result among the three most disappointing of his coaching career.
“To be honest, this is one of the worst three defeats of my coaching career,” Nagelsmann said.
“Hoffenheim v Liverpool was tough. RB Leipzig v PSG was difficult to take. We had plenty of chances; this is certainly one of the three toughest occasions.
“As to how we lift the team, everything works as normal. I’ll do my job as usual. On Wednesday we will start preparing for our next Bundesliga game and I will get the team ready for it.”