The German midfielder says Hansi Flick’s side “deserved” to win Europe’s most prestigious trophy despite a slightly below-par display in the showpeice
Joshua Kimmich has revealed that Bayern Munich had a “feeling of invincibility” during Sunday’s Champions League final in Lisbon.
Bayern became the first side to win the competition with a 100% record after picking up an 11th consecutive victory against Paris Saint-Germain at Benfica‘s Estadio da Luz.
Hansi Flick’s side had scored 18 goals in total during knockout stage wins over Chelsea, Barcelona and Lyon, but the Ligue 1 champions provided a far sterner test in the showpiece event.
PSG wasted several guilt-edge openings in the first 45 minutes, while Robert Lewandowski went closest for Bayern as he hit the woodwork with a poacher’s shot after spinning expertly in the box.
Thomas Tuchel’s men continued to try and soak up pressure and hit their opponents on the break early in the second period, but the Bundesliga outfit were eventually able to make their dominance of possession count just before the hour mark.
Kimmich provided the assist for Kingsley Coman to beat Keylor Navas in the PSG net with a well-placed header, sparking wild scenes of celebration among the Bayern players and staff.
The game ultimately ended 1-0, with Flick delivering a sixth European Cup to Allianz Arena to add to the Bundesliga title and DFB Cup his side had already won in 2019-20.
Kimmich has acknowledged the fact that Bayern weren’t at their free-flowing best against PSG, but also admitted that the squad was always confident of success after their unprecedented run to the final.
“It is the biggest day of my career. I can’t describe what it means to be on the pitch with a team like this one,” the German midfielder told the club’s official website.
“Winning a title like that with brothers is the best you can achieve. Hansi Flick has given us a very good feeling in the camp and given us a lot of confidence right from the off.
“Each victory has given us more and more confidence. When you make mistakes, someone else makes up for them.
“We weren’t without mistakes (in the final) either, but we had a slight feeling of invincibility. I think we deserved to win this competition.”
Bayern forward Thomas Muller added on becoming a two-time Champions League winner: “It feels incredible. We’ve been on a journey, we’ve come relatively far from how we felt in the autumn, and then we went on a run that was sensational.
“We’ve also deserved this feeling. We have the team spirit – the boys are ready to toil. We also rode our luck and had Manuel Neuer between the sticks.
“It wasn’t our best game, but we hung in there and now we’re on top.”
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