Thomas Tuchel declared Bayern Munich are "dying for revenge" after their humbling by Manchester City as he revealed Manuel Neuer is stepping up his comeback from injury.

The Bayern head coach oversaw a 3-0 defeat at City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

It was only in the last quarter of the game that City brought down the hammer, taking advantage of generous defending from the Bundesliga leaders.

Many would suppose the tie is all but over, yet Tuchel does not see it that way, with Bayern looking to make their home advantage count in the second leg next Wednesday.

"It's important not to lose focus," Tuchel said. "The task seems almost impossible, but nothing is impossible in football. I can feel that we are dying for revenge and the second leg."

Neuer will play no part in that game against Pep Guardiola's City, but the Bayern captain is making promising progress after the broken leg he suffered when on a skiing holiday after Germany's early exit from the World Cup.

There is no expectation of Neuer featuring again this season, which continues for Bayern with a home Bundesliga clash on Saturday against a Hoffenheim side who have won three games in a row.

"At the moment it is a great pleasure to watch Manuel Neuer in rehab every day," Tuchel said.

"Yesterday he did the first goalkeeper-specific exercises in the rehabilitation area. That gave me a good feeling to see he's making some good steps forward.

"I'm 100 per cent sure that Manu wants to come back to play at the highest level. We encourage him along the way, he is our captain and the captain of the German national team as well."

It remains to be seen, once Neuer is fit, whether he swiftly takes back the first-team goalkeeping role from Yann Sommer, who was brought in from Borussia Monchengladbach in January as an emergency recruit.

In 17 games for Bayern, Sommer has a save percentage success rate of only 63.79, compared to Neuer's 75.44 per cent before he was injured.

It would be a huge decision not to reinstate Neuer, even though at 37 he has entered the twilight years of his career.

"He's a great personality in German sport," Tuchel said. "He gets every possible support and Yann also gets every possible support."

Tuchel also backed Dayot Upamecano, who was at fault for City's second goal when he haplessly lost possession to Jack Grealish when striding out of defence, creating an opening for the hosts that saw Erling Haaland cross for Bernardo Silva to head in.

Upamecano had a shaky second half and looked out of his depth at times, but Tuchel believes the France defender has plenty to offer.

“We have to protect our players. He knows himself that he made mistakes. I don't have to tell him," Tuchel said. "But at this level, where he took the decisions with a lot of risk, we don't want to see that. We have been badly punished for it.

"In the second half he was a bit insecure which is a pity because he was in top form before that. We support him, talking openly about it. We need to be critical here and there, but he needs to feel that nobody plays the blame game."

Bayern Munich condemned racism in the "strongest possible terms" after Dayot Upamecano was abused online following his mistake against Manchester City on Tuesday.

Upamecano was caught in possession by Jack Grealish ahead of the lead up to City's second goal in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium, with the hosts punishing the France international's error as Erling Haaland crossed for Bernardo Silva to nod home.

Pep Guardiola's men went on to win 3-0, giving Bayern a huge task ahead of the return leg next week at the Allianz Arena, and Upamecano was subjected to racist abuse on social media following the match.

Bayern commented on Upamecano's recent Instagram post: "All of us at FC Bayern condemn racism in the strongest possible terms!

"The entire club stands behind you, Upa!"

Upamecano is the latest player to be abused after FIFA vowed they would clamp down on online discrimination prior to the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA launched a new service following the racial abuse of England's Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after their missed penalties at Euro 2020, though Upamecano's Bayern team-mate Kingsley Coman would go on to receive comments following his failed spot-kick in France's final defeat to Argentina in Qatar.

France won their first game since their World Cup final defeat in style, beating the Netherlands 4-0 at the Stade de France to kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a bang.

Antoine Griezmann put France ahead early after he was teed up by the man chosen over him for the captaincy, Kylian Mbappe, before Dayot Upamecano doubled their advantage inside eight minutes after Jasper Cillessen made a mess of a free-kick.

Mbappe made it three before the halfway point of the first-half, before striking a fabulous second late on as Didier Deschamps' men strolled to an opening win in Group B.

The Dutch had lost several players in the build-up to the game with a virus, but will have been made even sicker by the start to their qualifying campaign and Ronald Koeman's second spell as head coach, with Memphis Depay seeing a late penalty saved to add insult to injury.

After all the noise about the France captaincy, it was somewhat appropriate that Mbappe fed the ball inside to Griezmann to side-foot low and hard to Cillessen's right to give the hosts a second-minute lead.

It was 2-0 soon after as Cillessen failed to deal with Griezmann's free-kick from the right, with the ball ricocheting off Upamecano and rolling through the Dutch goalkeeper's legs into the net.

Mbappe had his first goal as captain in the 21st minute when he played the ball to Aurelien Tchouameni on the halfway line, before racing towards to the left-side of the penalty area to get onto the Real Madrid midfielder's return pass – dummied by Randal Kolo Muani – before finishing calmly.

Koeman took action by introducing Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst for Kenneth Taylor after just 33 minutes, and the Netherlands were at least able to avoid further damage despite never really testing Mike Maignan in the French goal.

That was until Depay's sloppy pass backwards found Mbappe, who teased Jurrien Timber and Daley Blind before firing across Cillessen to make it 4-0 in the 88th minute, while Depay saw his stoppage-time penalty saved by Maignan to wrap up a miserable game for the Dutch.

What does it mean? France eager to get going on the road to Germany

If Griezmann was disappointed by Deschamps' decision to give the armband to Mbappe, he hid it well as he scored after just a minute and 55 seconds.

It was the fastest goal for Les Bleus since October 11, 2006 when Louis Saha scored after 37 seconds against the Faroe Islands.

The Netherlands had 59 per cent possession, and 11 shots to France's 12, but their slow start gave them far too much to do.

Captain Kylian more than capable

France had not led by three goals this early in a game since December 17, 1953, against Luxembourg when it took just 10 minutes during an 8-0 drubbing.

Mbappe thrived in his first game as captain as he led from the front, taking five shots, four more than any of his team-mates, and making 18 passes in the opposition half, with only Tchouameni recording as many.

Koeman hopes the future's Oranje

The returning Dutch boss Koeman gave youngsters Lutsharel Geertruida, Xavi Simons and Taylor their first senior international starts, but it never felt like a game for inexperience, with Taylor barely lasting half-an-hour, albeit rather harshly.

It was the first time three players have made their full Netherlands debut in the same match since October 2015, and Koeman will be hoping that the experience for them, and the rest of the team, is at least a learning one.

What's next?

France head to the Republic of Ireland on Monday, while the Netherlands host Gibraltar the same day as Group B continues.

France won their first game since their World Cup final defeat in style, beating the Netherlands 4-0 at the Stade de France to kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a bang.

Antoine Griezmann put France ahead early after he was teed up by the man chosen over him for the captaincy, Kylian Mbappe, before Dayot Upamecano doubled their advantage inside eight minutes after Jasper Cillessen made a mess of a free-kick.

Mbappe made it three before the halfway point of the first-half, before striking a fabulous second late on as Didier Deschamps' men strolled to an opening win in Group B.

The Dutch had lost several players in the build-up to the game with a virus, but will have been made even sicker by the start to their qualifying campaign and Ronald Koeman's second spell as head coach, with Memphis Depay seeing a late penalty saved to add insult to injury.

After all the noise about the France captaincy, it was somewhat appropriate that Mbappe fed the ball inside to Griezmann to side-foot low and hard to Cillessen's right to give the hosts a second-minute lead.

It was 2-0 soon after as Cillessen failed to deal with Griezmann's free-kick from the right, with the ball ricocheting off Upamecano and rolling through the Dutch goalkeeper's legs into the net.

Mbappe had his first goal as captain in the 21st minute when he played the ball to Aurelien Tchouameni on the halfway line, before racing towards to the left-side of the penalty area to get onto the Real Madrid midfielder's return pass – dummied by Randal Kolo Muani – before finishing calmly.

Koeman took action by introducing Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst for Kenneth Taylor after just 33 minutes, and the Netherlands were at least able to avoid further damage despite never really testing Mike Maignan in the French goal.

That was until Depay's sloppy pass backwards found Mbappe, who teased Jurrien Timber and Daley Blind before firing across Cillessen to make it 4-0 in the 88th minute, while Depay saw his stoppage-time penalty saved by Maignan to wrap up a miserable game for the Dutch.

Julian Nagelsmann has been ordered to explain his behaviour towards the match officials after Bayern Munich's 3-2 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

The German Football Association (DFB) will receive an official letter from disciplinary chiefs this week and his response will dictate whether further action follows.

Nagelsmann was left furious by Dayot Upamecano's red card in the eighth minute of Saturday's Bundesliga game, after the French defender tangled with Alassane Plea.

It was reported after the final whistle that Nagelsmann confronted referee Tobias Welz, reportedly storming through the media area to loudly knock on the official's door.

Nagelsmann described the red-card incident to reporters as "a minimal touch", but he has admitted he went overboard when confronting Welz and the referee's assistants.

Now the fiery reaction could see him facing punishment, with the DFB saying in a statement it was investigating Nagelsmann for "unsportsmanlike comments".

"As a first step, Julian Nagelsmann will be written to by the control committee at the beginning of the new week and asked to comment on the alleged incident," the DFB said.

"After the statement has been received and evaluated, the committee will decide on the further progress of the procedure."

Nagelsmann posted an apology on Twitter after the game, writing: "Emotions are part of sport. And given the red card, I had to vent after the game.

"However, I have to apologise for the choice of words to the team around Tobias Welz. Unfortunately I went too far there."

Julian Nagelsmann was left furious by Dayot Upamecano's red card as Bayern Munich suffered a 3-2 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Upamecano was sent off in the eighth minute after being adjudged to have brought down Alassane Plea, who got goal-side of the centre-back after a hopeful long ball.

Goals from Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram lifted Gladbach to a deserved win. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalised after Stindl's opener for Bayern, but Mathys Tel's late strike was scant consolation.

The defeat leaves Bayern in danger of being knocked down to second place when Union Berlin face Schalke on Sunday, while Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to move level on points with Nagelsmann's Bavarians when they host Hertha Berlin.

But Nagelsmann seemed less concerned with Bayern's league position than confronting referee Tobias Welz, reportedly storming through the media area after the game to loudly knock on the match official's door.

Afterwards, he told Sky: "In my eyes, Upa has only a minimal touch on his shoulder, but he doesn't pull.

"And you can see in the slow motion that Plea's shoulder does not move back a millimetre."

Insisting Welz should have explained himself, Nagelsmann added: "You can decide all this, but maybe you could stand up after the game and say that the red card might have been a bit exaggerated.

"Everyone can live with it, he is also a person who sometimes makes mistakes."

Bayern's Alphonso Davies, meanwhile, expressed pride in the spirit they showed after going down to 10 men.

"It's tough having a red card so early in the match," Davies told Bundesliga.com.

"It's not good for any team, but we just kept fighting, we kept playing the way we knew how to play. We continued on.

"I mean, it's unfortunate with the red card. You know, it can happen to anyone. We don't put our head down. We kept our head up, we kept fighting."

Bayern Munich had Dayot Upamecano sent off in a 3-2 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach that dealt a fresh blow to their hopes of winning an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.

The French defender received his marching orders in the eighth minute for a messy challenge, and goals from Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram lifted Gladbach to a deserved win. Hofmann scored one and had two assists in a masterclass.

Daniel Farke's home side had won just one of their past five league games, but they did well here, reasserting themselves in the second half after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalised Stindl's opener before the break. Mathys Tel's late strike for Bayern was scant consolation.

It leaves Bayern in danger of being knocked down to second place when Union Berlin face Schalke on Sunday, while Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to move level on points with Julian Nagelsmann's Bavarians when they host Hertha Berlin.

Bayern made a dreadful start, with Dayot Upamecano ordered off after bringing down Alassane Plea who got goal-side of the centre-back after a hopeful long ball.

The home side snatched a 13th-minute lead when a free-kick on the right was played by Hofmann to captain Stindl on the edge of the penalty area and his low strike found the bottom-right corner, beating Yann Sommer.

Bayern made a tactical change, replacing captain Thomas Muller with defender Joao Cancelo, but Stindl should have had a second goal for Gladbach in the 24th minute when he shot six inches wide after being picked out on the penalty spot by Kouadio Kone.

It was a major let-off and Bayern drew level in the 35th minute when Alphonso Davies dashed down the left and played a low centre that Choupo-Moting drove past Jonas Omlin for his eighth league goal of the season.

Yet it was Gladbach who struck next, in the 55th minute, when Plea's smart pass across goal from the right was calmly slotted in by Hofmann. It was also his eighth goal of the campaign, and Plea's eighth assist.

Ramy Bensebaini rattled the Bayern crossbar moments later, while at the other end Cancelo sent a drive from the edge of the box into the side-netting and Davies shot wildly wide.

Thuram looked to have sealed victory in the 84th minute, turning in a pass from Hofmann, before Tel turned in Bayern's second from close range in stoppage time amid a frantic finish.

What does it mean?

Bayern cannot buy a win when they ship the opening goal on league duty. They have now failed to win their last eight games when conceding first in the Bundesliga, and that is a problem for a champion team.

Great teams find a way, and on the evidence of much of this season, not just this setback, we are possibly not looking at a great Bayern.

Nagelsmann is winless in five games now against Gladbach in all competitions since joining Bayern (D2, L3).

French folly

It was a Frenchman who was the toast of Bayern in the 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, when Kingsley Coman got the only goal.

Here it was another Frenchman in Upamecano whose clumsy defending proved costly. The red card was his third in the Bundesliga, and first since June 6, 2020, when he was an RB Leipzig player.

It was also the earliest a red card has been shown in the Bundesliga this season.

Gladbach pair at it again

Stindl and Hofmann rarely give Bayern a quiet moment. On this occasion, Stindl's goal was his eighth goal involvement against Bayern in the Bundesliga, while Hofmann's assist was his ninth such involvement against the champions.

Hofmann's 10th involvement came when he fired home to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, and his 11th brought about the hosts' third. Among current Bundesliga players, nobody has been involved in more goals against Bayern, with Marco Reus also on 11 involvements.

What's next?

Bayern will be back on home turf next weekend when they host Union Berlin on the Sunday. Gladbach do not have to wait so long for another Bundesliga game, with a trip to Mainz coming up on Friday.

Julian Nagelsmann has elected against discussing Germany's poor World Cup with his Bayern Munich players.

Seven Bayern players featured in Germany's World Cup squad, as Hansi Flick's side failed to progress from the group stage in Qatar.

A defeat to Japan in their Group E opener was followed by a 1-1 draw with Spain, and a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica was not enough to send Germany through.

It is the second successive World Cup that Germany have failed to make the knockout stage, but Nagelsmann – who succeeded Flick at Bayern and has taken his squad to Doha for a training camp – does not believe it is his job to discuss the tournament with his players.

""I thought a lot about how we would address it during the break. I decided on very little," he told reporters.

"The players have the opportunity to come to me. I deliberately left them alone.

"I'm not much of a comforter. It's always a matter of choice. I can talk for half an hour about the bad, sad World Cup. Or I just leave it out.

"Focus on what they can influence – in the present and in the future. I tried to limit myself to that."

Indeed, Nagelsmann hopes the Bayern players instead turn their disappointment into motivation for the rest of the season.

"I can imagine what it means when you are eliminated from a World Cup," he said.

"But sometimes it's night, then it's usually day again. It's day now and there's a lot of light.

"You have it in your own hands to be more successful than you were at the World Cup.

"We, as the coaching staff, need to create the foundation for the players to perform at their best.

"Frustration and disappointment can also be the biggest motivating factor. I sense they are in a good place, they're training well and are fit."

While Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and the rest of Bayern's Germany players endured a difficult World Cup, Dayot Upamecano established himself as a key part of France's defence.

Upamecano made a spectacular block as France drew 3-3 with Argentina in a thrilling final, only for Les Bleus to lose on penalties, but Nagelsmann has been impressed with the 24-year-old's development over the course of the campaign.

"Upamecano has been solid, as he was in the first half of the season, when he developed well," Nagelsmann said.

"He was also on top form in training. He had a good World Cup and he was one of the best defenders. We need him in top form."

France have replaced Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot in their starting XI for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final against Morocco due to illness.

Reports began to circulate on Tuesday that the two players were suffering with flu, and as such they were deemed unable to line up at Al Bayt Stadium.

Juventus midfielder Rabiot was out of the squad entirely, remaining at the team's base, but Upamecano took a place among the substitutes.

Rabiot had played in all five of France's previous matches in the tournament, while Upamecano started all but their final group game, the defeat to Tunisia.

Drafted into their places were Youssouf Fofana and Ibrahima Konate, starting in midfield and centre-back, respectively.

Otherwise, there were no changes to Didier Deschamps' team from the side that beat England 2-1 in the quarter-finals.

Opponents Morocco also made changes, welcoming back key defensive pair Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui following injuries.

But Walid Regragui's line-up hinted at a change in system as Aguerd replaced midfielder Selim Amallah, rather than fellow centre-back Jawad El Yamiq.

France were looking to become the first reigning champions to reach the final of the World Cup since Brazil in 1998. The last European nation to do so were Italy in 1938.

If Les Bleus were to win, it would take Deschamps to 14 victories as a coach at the World Cup, a record bettered only by Helmut Schon (16).

France coach Didier Deschamps saluted Antoine Griezmann for playing a starring role in Les Bleus' run to the World Cup semi-finals after coming through "challenging times".

Deschamps' side take on Morocco in the second semi on Wednesday, with France aiming to become the first European nation to reach successive World Cup finals since Italy in 1938.

While Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud have grabbed the headlines, Griezmann has been similarly key to the holders' progress despite being used in a new position, essentially in midfield.

The Atletico Madrid player has created more chances (17) and recorded more expected assists (2.9) than anyone else at the tournament, while his two assists against England in the quarter-finals took him to three for the campaign – no one has more.

Further to that, his 28 involvements in shot-ending open-play sequences is second only to Mbappe (40) in the France squad, highlighting his influence in their build-up play.

After several difficult years with Barcelona and back at Atletico, Griezmann's form has surprised some, but not Deschamps.

"Yes, he's had a great tournament, but we'll need him to be just as good [on Wednesday]," Deschamps told reporters in Tuesday's pre-match press conference.

"He's the type of player who can really change a team because he's so hard-working and so technically gifted. He's playing slightly different role in this World Cup, but it suits him well.

"He likes defending just as much as attacking and being a playmaker. Of course, his main responsibility isn't ball winning; his left foot is so wonderful, he creates chances for others.

"He's someone who always thinks of the team above everything else. He's extremely hard-working, probably more so than most players.

"He's been an elite player for 10 years now. Of course, he's gone through challenging times like any player, but he's mentally very strong. Like all world-class players, he's at his best in the most important games."

Dayot Upamecano is another France player impressing in Qatar after having to overcome certain struggles.

Although a regular at Bundesliga level from the age of 18, Upamecano did not win his first senior cap until just before he turned 22.

Then, last year he found himself back with the Under-21s instead of in Deschamps' squad for Euro 2020 as he paid the price for some unconvincing early appearances with Les Bleus.

However, he has started all but one of France's World Cup games, with Deschamps pleased to see he has moved past some psychological barriers that were previously stunting his progress.

"Dayot did have an issue with his mental strength, which I think prevented him from being the top player we knew he could become," the coach added.

"He's managed to overcome those challenges, he feels more relaxed, more confident. I do think that's what helped him reach his best level and show the qualities he has.

"He's very fit, good in tackling, good at passing. Sometimes he tries to overdo things a bit with his passing, is too ambitious, but he listens to advice, he's open-minded, relaxed, happy.

"Some players can be introverted in nature like him, and so maybe they need more time to develop and flourish.

"But I'm quite convinced when a player has potential that it will end up flourishing even if sometimes I must recognise there are other players in the squad who can also be very strong and have their role to play.

"So yes, he's been through challenging times, but he's now relaxed, more confident and showing he's a top player."

Julian Nagelsmann expressed his desire to see Robert Lewandowski receive a warm welcome on his Bayern Munich return, as he backed the striker to continue his fine start to life at Barcelona.

Lewandowski, who scored 238 Bundesliga goals during an eight-year spell with the Bavarian giants before heading to Camp Nou in July, has made a scintillating start to his Barcelona career. 

The Poland international has scored six goals in his first five outings in LaLiga, and turned on the style with a hat-trick in Barca's 5-1 Champions League thrashing of Viktoria Plzen last week.

Lewandowski will make a swift return to Munich with his new club for Tuesday's huge Champions League fixture, and despite the less-than-amicable nature of his departure, Nagelsmann believes he should be received warmly.

"If I see him before [the game] then I'm certainly going to give him my hand. I'm not sure if I'll see him beforehand, usually I don't," Nagelsmann said.

"I'm looking forward to our fans welcoming him back. When a player has been so strong for the team over the years, I think it's important. 

"He was an important part of the Bayern family. We had a personal exchange a couple of weeks back, not regarding football. I am looking forward to seeing him again."

Asked about Lewandowski's start to life in Spain, Nagelsmann added: "I think he can still continue to play at that level for a couple of years, I'm not sure how many goals he can score this season, I'm no genie. 

"I think it will be plenty. He has scored 40 plus usually, so I think he can do that in the Spanish league as well.

"I'm not sure if he's the most dangerous, but he's certainly one of their most dangerous players, the one that can score the most goals. They have great solutions there.

"Lewandowski always has great runs and positions inside the box. He's the most dangerous in front of goal, but if he doesn't get a lot of balls, it's difficult [for him]."

Having coached Lewandowski when he brought up a half-century of goals in all competitions last term, Nagelsmann is acutely aware of his talents, and believes Dayot Upamecano's past experiences of facing him could aid Bayern. 

"I have plenty of positions that I'm already pretty clear on," Nagelsmann added. "Upamecano has memories of playing against Lewandowski, back when he was at RB Leipzig. He knows him from our practice as well."

While Upamecano is set to start at the Allianz Arena, Leon Goretzka will not, as Nagelsmann looks to ease the midfielder in following his injury lay-off.

"The position next to Joshua [Kimmich] is going to be [Marcel] Sabitzer," Nagelsmann said. 

"I've had a chat with Leon, it was my decision to keep him on [against Stuttgart on Saturday]. We decided to keep him on for 94 minutes, that was a long time for him after the injury. He reacted well to it and is feeling good. 

"Him having to play from the start is not going to happen, we need him for the whole season and don't want to give him too many minutes at the start."

Meanwhile, Barcelona have suffered eight Champions League defeats to Bayern – twice as many as they have lost against any other opponent (4 vs Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain).

Bayern also boast a 100 per cent record against the Blaugrana in the group stages and beat them twice in the competition last term, but Nagelsmann is keen to draw a line under those past meetings.

"We know Barcelona. They have a completely new mindset. You can delete the last few games against Barca from your memory, it's a whole different team, very aggressive," he said. "It reminds us of when Xavi still used to play himself. 

"In Gavi and Pedri they have great number eights that have great pressing actions as well. There's a great development there for the team, Xavi did a few things really well in the last weeks and months.

"They want to attack in a new way, and they're going to be very difficult opponents tomorrow."

Sadio Mane is a "top player" who "you can only sit back and watch", says Bayern Munich team-mate Alphonso Davies after Sunday's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg.

The Senegal international, who arrived from Liverpool ahead of the start of the 2022-23 season, has made an instant impact at his new home, setting the Bundesliga alight with his performances.

A superb league debut in a 6-1 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt last week saw him get himself on the scoresheet, and only a VAR intervention stopped him from finding it again this weekend.

But even without another goal to his name, Mane - who fired the Reds to a domestic cup double last term and his country to Africa Cup of Nations glory, plus World Cup qualification - has left his team-mates impressed.

"Sadio Mane, you see this guy, he's a top player," Davies told the Bundesliga's official website. "He's hard-working, he's fast, we try to get the ball to him as much as possible because he's a very quick guy.

"He's a good player. We're happy to have him here. He feels good in the team and as you can see, the performances he's [shown] lately, you can only just sit back and watch."

Dayot Upamecano also offered high praise for the forward, adding: "We know he's a very big player, he's helping us a lot. We're all very happy he's here.

"He gave me tips about a lot of things. He's one of the best players in the world and everyone of us is happy that he's here."

With two wins from two to start the new season, Bayern are flying in defence of their Bundesliga crown, one they earned last year despite a string of so-so performances and a frustrating Champions League campaign.

But Davies feels they have turned a page this term for Julian Nagelsmann's sophomore season, adding: "This year, we have a mindset that we want to keep.

"Last year wasn't too ideal for us in [the] competitions but this year, we have some new faces [and] fresh legs. It's the beginning of the season, you want to keep this momentum going. We're just enjoying playing football."

Lucas Hernandez and Tanguy Nianzou have tested positive for COVID-19, Bayern Munich have confirmed.

The club said in a statement that the pair have entered isolation and are "both well".

They will miss Bayern's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday – the champions' first match after the mid-season break.

France international Hernandez has made 19 appearances across all competitions this season, while teenager Nianzou has featured in 13 games, although just four of those have been starts.

Bayern also revealed that Leroy Sane, Dayot Upamecano and Josip Stanisic returned inconclusive results.

Julian Nagelsmann's side resume Bundesliga action with a nine-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table.

Julian Nagelsmann expressed his satisfaction with Bayern Munich as the Bavarians head into the mid-season Bundesliga break top of the table.

Bayern cruised to a 4-0 victory on Friday over Wolfsburg, with Thomas Muller – who was making his 400th league appearance for the reigning champions – scoring the first and assisting Dayot Upamecano's second.

Leroy Sane soon added a curling third before Robert Lewandowski sealed victory as the Poland striker netted his 43rd top-flight goal of 2021, surpassing Gerd Muller's long-standing calendar-year record for Bundesliga goals, set in 1972 (42).

Bayern boast a nine-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who play their game in hand against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, and former RB Leipzig head coach Nagelsmann has been pleased with his side's efforts to date.

In the three points-for-a-win era, Bayern have won the title in 14 of the 15 seasons they have topped the league at the halfway point.

"I'm very satisfied with our first half of the season," Nagelsmann told reporters. "It's not simple to score this many goals against such a compact defence. 

"We had very good control and pressed even better in the second half. The key was counter-pressing: we won the ball high and closed all gaps.

"I'm very happy with the performance. We played a lot of games recently; the first half was more difficult. The initial phase was good, then we slowed down a bit. Then [Wout] Weghorst had a chance, we were lucky, or we had a good goalkeeper, maybe a mixture of both.

"The way we played in the second half was great. The goals were outstanding."

On Lewandowski's landmark strike, Nagelsmann added: "I was very happy that he scored. It was a wonderful goal – Lewy played a great game."

Nagelsmann also reserved praise for Upamecano, who made a staggering 103 passes in Wolfsburg's half – a game-leading figure – while also leading Bayern for tackles made (five) and possession won (14 times).

"He scored a goal, which is great," the Bayern head coach continued. "We know how important it is to have goalscoring defenders when the opponent sits very deep. 

"He was very focused today. Overall, he's having a good season, except for a couple of games. We shouldn't forget he's young, he isn't 28."

Thomas Muller starred on a milestone appearance and Robert Lewandowski broke a long-standing Gerd Muller record as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-0 victory over Wolfsburg on Friday.

Muller marked his 400th top-flight outing for Bayern with the opening goal after seven minutes at the Allianz Arena, before the Germany international teed up Dayot Upamecano for a second after the interval.

Leroy Sane added a third for Julian Nagelsmann's side and Lewandowski was able to find a record 43rd league goal in 2021 to surpass Bayern legend's Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga calendar-year scoring record as the hosts cruised to victory.
 
Leaders Bayern hold a nine-point advantage at the summit, with Dortmund – who play Hertha Berlin on Saturday – sat in second heading into the mid-season break.

Bayern were soon ahead when Muller poked home from close range after Koen Casteels had parried Serge Gnabry's strike, before Manuel Neuer thwarted Wout Weghorst at the other end.

Jamal Musiala almost doubled Bayern's lead but dragged wide, while Casteels denied Lewandowski's header from point-blank range.

Muller delicately chipped for Upamecano to head into the bottom-left corner after the interval, with Sane expertly curling in via the left post just two minutes later.

Lewandowski then had two opportunities to break Gerd Muller's benchmark, but wastefully prodded over with the first before an excellent Casteels save denied him from the second.

The Poland striker eventually managed his landmark finish when Musiala selflessly headed across goal for the Poland striker to volley in as Bayern eased to victory.

What does it mean? Bayern title favourites again heading into mid-season break

Bayern, who have not lost any of their last 25 home league matches against Wolfsburg, once again head into the mid-season break top of the Bundesliga – this time leading by at least six points, with Dortmund set to play their game in hand against Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

In the three points-per-win era, the Bavarians have won the title in 14 of the 15 seasons when they have been at the summit at the halfway point. By contrast, Wolfsburg have now lost seven consecutive competitive matches.

Gnabry the Great

Muller and Lewandowski seemingly steal the plaudits most weeks, but Gnabry's dominant performance should not go under the radar.

The Germany winger not only provided an assist but also laid on a team-leading three chances – along with full-back Alphonso Davies and Musiala – as he ensured a torrid game for Yannick Gerhardt at left wing-back.

Woeful Weghorst

Weghorst wasted a glorious opportunity to equalise immediately after Muller's opener and that set the tone for a frustrating performance from the striker.

The Netherlands international cut an isolated figure up top, winning just over a third of his 14 duels, while relinquishing possession a team-high 18 times.

What's next?

The Bundesliga now takes a break until 2022. Bayern return to action at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on January 7, while Wolfsburg visit Bochum two days later.