The encouraging words of club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge could not really restore the players’ appetite at the post-match dinner.
After squandering a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw with Juventus, the mood was one of frustration around the tables at the Salone delle Feste. “It is not a catastrophic result but we return home with a queasy feeling,” keeper Manuel Neuer said.
Bayern should still be confident of advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals, club chairman Rummenigge said, urging players not to dwell too long on the result.
The German champions and 2013 Champions League winners went 2-0 up through Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben but let the lead slip with goals from Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro for Juve.
“I don’t believe we should make the mistake of railing against this result even if we were leading 2-0,” Rummenigge said.
Regard the result as a 2-2 victory rather than a 2-2 defeat, he told the players.
“It is a very, very good result which holds the door to the quarter-finals very, very open for us,” he added.
Captain Philipp Lahm was also optimistic Bayern would finish the job against the Italian champions in the Allianz Arena on March 16.
“We can live with a 2-2 draw,” he said. “We’re in a good position for the return. Juventus are a very good team. We let them back into the game due to our own mistakes, but we can definitely take heart from the first 60 minutes.”
Bayern’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben said the team would have to play over 90 minutes like it did for the first hour in Turin.
“You sense the disappointment in the dressing room. If you’re 2-0 up against opponents like these, you have to close out the win,” he said.
“We have to maintain our control, especially in defence. But we’re well-placed for the return. We’ll need plenty of passion at the Allianz Arena but also cool heads, like we showed for the first hour today.”
Coach Pep Guardiola was also pleased with his side’s performance after dominating the ball for long spells.
“Obviously it would have been better to win, but we were playing against last year’s finalists,” he said.
“It was an incredible performance. It’ll be just as tough in the return as it was today. Juventus have great mental strength.”