Bayern Munich vice-captain Thomas Muller thinks Bayern Munich should be confident of beating Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Bundesliga champions will meet Frank Lampard’s side in a repeat of 2011-12 final, which Chelsea won on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Munich. Neuer and Muller played in that heart-breaking home defeat for Bayern, who responded in the 2012-13 season by winning the treble, which included a Champions League final triumph over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
The Blues reached the Champions League knockout stage after finishing second in Group H behind Valencia, and play the German champions in the first leg at Stamford Bridge on February 25. Bayern, meanwhile, who are struggling domestically in the Bundesliga – finding themselves fifth after 15 games.
Muller has also singled out the individual qualities of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic for praise but is confident Bayern will go through to the quarterfinals.
“We are happy to know now what will happen in the next round, there is no uncertainty anymore,” Muller said on Monday.
“As you can expect, there are teams taking part in the round of the last 16 that have European quality, but we are self-confident and I feel really good about the draw.
“I don’t know that much about the current situation at Chelsea, I only know the last results and as far as I know they’re not performing that well, but I didn’t see much of them, to be honest.
“But yeah, they have some forwards, for example, Hudson-Odoi or Christian Pulisic, who have some well-known qualities, but in football, it’s not about single players, it’s about the team performance.”
Chelsea has been going through a rough patch in recent weeks and After a run of seven straight wins, Lampard’s side has registered just four victories in their last 11 games in all competitions and are struggling to find form.
