Thomas Muller has urged the media “not to get too carried away hyping” Paris Saint-Germain following Bayern Munich’s 3-1 Champions League victory over the Ligue 1 side.
Muller, 28, captained the side in the 3-0 loss to PSG in September — a result that prompted the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti the following day.
However, interim coach Jupp Heynckes has transformed Bayern’s fortunes and they gained revenge for the humbling in Paris courtesy of Robert Lewandowski’s opener and a goal in each half from club-record signing Corentin Tolisso.
Muller, Bayern’s record Champions League scorer, believes too much value was placed on PSG’s win in their first meeting.
He told reporters: “When we lost in Paris, corners were something like 18 to one in our favour, but despite that everyone behaved like Paris enjoyed some kind of magic potion.
“Sure, they have good players in attack, but you should not get too carried away hyping up other teams like that.
“We’ve won 3-1 today. Of course, Paris had a few good chances but you did not gain the impression that we were facing a totally dominant uber-team. We are still FC Bayern.”
The Germany international made his comeback after a six-week break from a thigh injury in the 3-1 win over Hannover at the weekend, but was not risked from the start by Heynckes against PSG.
He did, though, assume the captaincy from 34-year-old Franck Ribery when he replaced Bayern’s longest-serving player on 66 minutes.
And he accused Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir of overprotecting PSG players due to the media hype centred on Neymar and his teammates.
Muller said: “The referee had obviously also read a few of these stories. I sometimes had the feeling I was playing an away game in Paris — the way he protected them. We are still FC Bayern.”
Mark Lovell covers Bayern Munich for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter: @LovellLowdown.