Who could Bayern Munich face in the 2022/23 Champions League knockout stages?
A stunning defeat at the hands of Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season left a huge stain on Julian Nagelsmann's debut campaign as Bayern Munich boss.
For a club that's so used to claiming domestic success, their performance in Europe is often used as a measuring stick in regards to determining the efficacy of both their players and manager.
Bayern were light years away from the continent's elite under Niko Kovac not so long ago before Hansi Flick helped them return to the pinnacle of club football in 2020. The Bavarians are European behemoths once more, and the manner in which they dismantled the supposed 'Group of Death' in this year's competition may well be a sign of things to come in 2023.
They mean business.
Bayern Munich 2022/23 Champions League so far
Bayern responded to being draw into Group C - the 'Group of Death - by winning every game and the group with a game to spare.
Outside of the opening 45 minutes of their Matchday 2 affair at home to Barcelona, during which former striker Robert Lewandowski missed a hatful of chances, Nagelsmann's side have rarely looked flustered. A sterling second-half showing in that contest saw them run out 2-0 winners after they'd eased past Inter 2-0 away from home on Matchday 1.
A pair of cakewalks ensued against Viktoria Plzen (5-0 and 4-2 wins) before they knocked Barça out of the competition with another 2-0 win at the Nou Camp on Matchday 5. Bayern rounded off the group campaign with a straightforward 2-0 success over Inter at home.
Bayern would end the group stage as the only side with a 100% record, seeing off Inter 2-0 in the final round of fixtures while the only other undefeated team after five games, Napoli, slumped to defeat against Liverpool.
Leroy Sane is currently Bayern's top scorer in the competition with four goals, while Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting have eached scored three.
Bayern Munich 2022/23 Champions League last 16 potential opponents
With Bayern progressing into the round of 16 as group winners, they'll be taking on one of the runners-up, but their options are limited as three of the second-place sides are also from Germany - Dortmund, Leipzig and Frankfurt - and can therefore not be drawn against Bayern at this stage.
PSG, Liverpool and AC Milan are three of the four teams waiting for Bayern, so the Bundesliga side may be hoping for a comparatively nicer draw against Belgium's Club Brugge instead.
- Liverpool
- Club Brugge
- Milan
- Paris Saint-Germain