The new season isn’t even a week old, but Bayern are already competing for their first title of the campaign. Six days after the sublime 8-0 win over Schalke in the opening match of the Bundesliga, the reigning Champions League winners take on their Europa League counterparts Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on Thursday (kick-off at 9pm CEST, coverage available through our live text commentary and web radio).
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The prospect of adding to the treble with another cup is pushing the Munich men on, even though they have great respect for their opponents. “Of course, we’ve been warned. They won the Europa League. Sevilla play good football,” said Serge Gnabry, who appeared particularly motivated. “At the end of the day, we need a top performance to claim a cup I’ve never won. It doesn’t matter how, the main thing is the trophy comes back with us to Munich.”
The situation for Bayern
After lifting their sixth European Cup, FCB are favourites going into Super Cup, which they could win for the second time, after 2013. On top of that, Hansi Flick’s side demonstrated in the eight-goal showing in the opening Bundesliga game that they have been able to maintain their outstanding form from the previous campaign. The Reds are on an incredible 22-match winning run in all competitions, which makes them a target in Europe. “The fact you’ve been so successful means everyone wants to beat you. We don’t want to let up. We’re on a great run and want to continue it,” declared captain Manuel Neuer. That’s exactly how his coach sees it: “We have one goal: to win the UEFA Super Cup.”
