Bayern sets sights on Bundesliga after UCL exit
Bayern Munich's dream of playing in the UEFA Champions League final at its home stadium lies in tatters after its quarter-final exit, but it can still salvage a successful season by bagging the Bundesliga and FIFA Club World Cup trophies.
The Bavarian side tops the Bundesliga with 69 points, six ahead of second-placed defending champion Bayer Leverkusen with five games left to play.
After being dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Inter Milan, winning the Bundesliga is now the top priority and Vincent Kompany's team is determined to avoid any slip-ups when it travels to Heidenheim this weekend.
Bayern has won just two of its past five league matches, setting up a tight final stretch with Leverkusen breathing down its neck.
"I want to look ahead," Kompany, whose team will also take part in the FIFA Club World Cup starting in June in the United States said.
"In five months the [UEFA] Champions League starts again. The final in Munich is no longer there for us. But in one month we want to win a title [Bundesliga] and in two months there is the [FIFA] Club World Cup so it just keeps going."
Bayern will be missing several key players through injury against Heidenheim, and can expect the 16th-placed hosts to battle tooth and nail as they try to avoid the drop.
League leader Bayern has looked particularly vulnerable at the back because of injuries to key players, while Korea Republic defender Kim Min-jae, who has had an extremely busy season for club and country, has looked short of form, especially against Inter.
Bayern is on a six-game wait for a clean sheet in the Bundesliga for the first time this season. Jonas Urbig has become the first Die Roten goalkeeper to fail to record a shutout in any of his first five Bundesliga matches for the club.
"We cannot allow this elimination to ruin our season," Bayern forward Harry Kane, who also faced criticism after several missed chances in both legs against the Italian side, said.
"We have the chance to win back the title in the Bundesliga," the England captain and Bundesliga's top scorer, who is still waiting for the first major club trophy of his career, added.
"This is important, especially after last season. We have to be ready on Saturday and get back on track."
Leverkusen has not taken full advantage of Bayern's slip-ups in recent weeks and will look to bag the three points on Monday (AEST) at St Pauli.
Eintracht Frankfurt, on 51 points, will try to tighten its grip on third place when it travels to Augsburg on Sunday as it battles to secure a UEFA Champions League spot for next season.
