Bayern Munich are not done yet

Harry Kane puts on a brave face following Bayern Munich's Champions League elimination S. Mellar/FC Bayern via Getty Images Share articleThere are nights in football when the outcome seems predestined. Allianz Arena felt that way before Bayern Munich faced Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. The way the stadium shuddered with noise. How the choreography unfurled by the Südkurve shimmered in the night. It all felt like colour from another night that nobody would forget. Alas, football does not work like that. Bayern could only draw 1-1, failing to overturn a 5-4 deficit from the first leg and losing 6-5 on aggregate. Rather than a final stop on the road to a final in Budapest, this was the end of the line for Vincent Kompany’s team, who have burned so brilliantly and so often this season, but who ultimately fell to an extraordinarily gifted and resilient opponent. Across the game, the stadium raged with injustice and annoyance at a refereeing performance that Bayern fans will mutter about for years. But even the most partisan among them would have to concede that when it mattered, in the critical moments, their team was just not quite good enough. The final passes were never played at quite the right moment, or as quickly as they needed to be. The shots took a second too long, from angles that never looked quite right. In Paris, Bayern played with great fluency and unending belief. Back home in Munich, under the lights and with almost 75,000  at their back, they were stymied by little hesitations and imperfections that proved decisive. Part of the disappointment comes from knowing that Champions League opportunities are rare. To become European champions, a team needs all the perquisites — ability, depth and money — but must possess perfect timing, too. A team must reach its peak at the right moment. For Bayern, this felt like that time. Harry Kane is playing brilliantly well, even into his thirties. Luis Diaz might be having the season of his life. Michael Olise has certainly been having his. So, this was the moment. Manchester City are down. So are Liverpool. Real Madrid are at war with each other and are being coached by a novice. As far as opportunities go, this was a good one — the trophy was unguarded. Will it be next year? Premier League teams have the capacity to spend their way back to full strength, with new players and coaches. Real Madrid do too, so the temptation is to think not. And will Kane be as good next year, with another 50 games in his legs? And can Olise and Diaz generate the same electricity? There are all sorts of questions and next year likely will be harder, but there’s every reason to believe that Bayern can be better. Speaking after the game, Joshua Kimmich told reporters this was a start, not an end. “I do believe that this team can still win the Champions League,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s just not going to be this year.” It was a brave face that you would expect Kimmich to put on. He’s a serial winner who does not do self-pity. At the same time, he’s justified in that belief. After all, his team’s deficiencies are easy to diagnose and relatively simple to address. Exposed to PSG’s lethal speed and technical ability, they looked terrifyingly vulnerable on the edges of their defence. While Kompany has good options at full-back, they need adding to, with players who can shut down threats and stop players such as Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele from having such a profound effect against them. Is it folly to base part of a recruitment strategy on a bad experience against a single opponent? Arguably not when that team might be about to win back-to-back Champions League titles and when European competition is the basis by which Bayern measure themselves. Kompany needs greater defensive range to work with. He requires more technical ability in the areas between his defence and midfield. Aleksandar Pavlovic is a penetrative passer and a fine orchestrator, but without replicating his abilities, Bayern risk creating a dependency and becoming reliant on a solitary source of quick, forward possession. Leon Goretzka will leave the club this summer when his contract expires and that will create the opportunity — and financial leeway — to add another layer to the midfield. It’s a chance to stir the defensive chemistry, too. Dayot Upamecano has become a terrific centre-back and Jonathan Tah has been a fine foil, but the unit is still short of a line-breaking player who could alleviate the need for the attacking players, such as Kane and Jamal Musiala, to drop as deep as often as they do. Can they find a left-footed source of first-phase possession? Maybe a bit more speed? It’s a thrilling prospect, even if the finer details of summer strategy can wait. The important realisation for now is that Bayern are in motion — they are a team of possibility, driven by a richly fertile culture. Nobody expected Olise to be this good or Diaz to be this destructive. A year ago, nobody believed that Lennart Karl had any chance of going to the World Cup or that Konrad Laimer could be reinvented as an inverted full-back. Eighteen months ago, Serge Gnabry was finished and marked for sale. In 2025-26, he came alive again and provided a thrust that was greatly missed on Wednesday night. And on and on. Throughout that squad, in every position, expectations have been challenged and exceeded, and there’s every reason to believe that can keep happening. So this will hurt for some time and it should. Losing a semi-final is supposed to cause sleepless nights. But by May 2027, the bruises suffered and the regrets carried may well be part of a different kind of journey. Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich are not done yet. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms