Thomas Mueller News

Barcelona had advanced to at least the round of 16 every time they competed in the Champions League since 2001 but will continue in the second tier Europa League after ending up third in the group.

New coach Hansi Flick of Germany managed to give a proper farewell to Joachim Loew as Germany thrashed Liechtenstein 9-0 in a World Cup qualifier fixture.

Germany coach Joachim Loew, in his final tournament before stepping down after 15 years in charge, is set to include Leon Goretzka in his squad, with the midfielder having recovered from injury and having trained several times with the team.

Bayern, who needed a win to make sure of a record-extending seventh consecutive league title, are on 75 points and will now face a final day examination at home to Eintracht Frankfurt next Saturday.

The Bavarians are in stellar form, having won 11 of their last 12 league matches, and have cut leaders Borussia Dortmund`s advantage from seven points to a two-goal goal difference in recent weeks.

The trio were part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup in 2014 and Mueller said the sudden nature of the announcement had left a bitter taste.

The result was a major success for promoted Duesseldorf but left Bayern in shock and without a win in three league games.

Joachim Loew's Germany start fine-tuning preparations for their World Cup defence in Russia with high-profile friendlies against Spain in Duesseldorf on Friday and Brazil in Berlin next Tuesday.

Besiktas, making their debut in the knock-out stages of the Champions League, face a near-impossible task in the return leg in Istanbul on March 14 if they are to prolong their European adventure.

Second-placed Bayern need a win in Glasgow to keep the pressure on Group B leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who are three points clear at the top, while Celtic are third.

Bayern's stand-in captain Mueller limped out of Saturday's 1-0 win at Hamburg with a tear in his right hamstring which will rule him out for up to three weeks, the club confirmed on Monday.

It had been 1,608 days since Heynckes last took charge of Bayern in Europe when they beat Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final.

The win saw Bayern move within two points of Dortmund at the top of the table after the league leaders suffered their first defeat of the season to RB Leipzig.

With no Mueller or Gomez around, RB Leipzig`s Timo Werner, the Bundesliga`s top-scoring German forward last season with 21 goals, and Hoffenheim`s burly striker Sandro Wagner will have their chance to shine.

Thiago Alcantara was the architect for Mueller`s winner, flicking his pass over the Gladbach defence for the Germany star to fire home his 93rd Bundesliga goal from close range on 63 minutes.

The result allowed Bayern to extend their lead over second-placed RB Leipzig, they now head for Arsenal on Tuesday for their Champions League last 16 return tie.

The victory leaves Bayern six points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig, who host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

After ten straight defeats at the hands of Munich, Hertha`s last win over Bayern was back in February 2009 and Berlin are realistic of their chances.

Joshua Kimmich grabbed a second-half double and birthday boy Thomas Mueller was on target as Bayern Munich hammered the Russian side Rostov 5-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Mueller failed to score even once during Germany`s run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, but the 27-year-old rediscovered his best form in Oslo as he increased his international goals tally to 34.