Thomas Muller believes Konrad Laimer targeting Arsenal star Martin Odegaard ‘like a dog’ inspired Bayern Munich’s renaissance

Thomas Muller claims Konrad Laimer’s marking against Martin Odegaard helped change Bayern Munich’s recent fortunes.

Laimer was tasked with silencing the Arsenal star during their Champions League quarter-final clashes last month, which the German side won.

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He succeeded in doing so and helped Bayern advance to the semi-finals, where they draw 2-2 on aggregate against Real Madrid so far.

Success in the Champions League is all that remains for the German giants to play for this season, as they have already missed out on winning the Bundesliga for the first time since 2012.

But success remains a possibility and when Muller spoke with CBS Sports Golazo On Tuesday evening, Jamie Carragher reminded him of his impassioned speech after Bayern’s 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

He then asked what had changed for them since then to make them believe they could reach the Champions League final, and Müller replied: “I think the games and the victory against Arsenal gave us a bit , in a way, confidence in ourselves.

“A bit…not the team spirit when you go out and have a beer together, maybe that gave us the belief and maybe that kind of, I said that Konnie Laimer feeling, when he hunts Odegaard like a dog.”

The CBS studio laughed at his description, before Muller added: “Yeah, maybe you know that story. That kind of winning feeling gave us a little more confidence, to be a little more aggressive .

“The last two or three weeks we are in a good mood, we are playing better, we are not playing perfectly but we are playing better.”

Bayern drew 2-2 with Arsenal in their quarter-final first leg before Joshua Kimmich’s header gave Thomas Tuchel’s men a 1-0 second-leg victory to send them through.

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Victory in the reverse fixture in Madrid next Wednesday will send them to their first Champions League final since 2020, in which they beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to win their sixth European title.

Winning club football’s biggest prize would mark a successful end to Tuchel’s tenure with the German set to leave the club this summer.

He joined the team last March and quickly won the Bundesliga title, but the lack of success so far this season means a change in management is underway.

Tuchel already has experience of winning the Champions League having done so with Chelsea in 2021 after just four months on the job.

The German will surely be desperate to do it again this season in order to leave Bayern on a high note amid their recent struggles.

But first they must overcome another challenge against Madrid, the winner of which will face either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final.