Bayern captain Lahm targets Napoli scalp

Posted Tuesday, October 18, 2011 by ESPN

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm is eager to continue the club's strong start to the season by beating Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

Following their opening day German Bundesliga defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich have gone the next 12 games undefeated, winning eleven of those and conceding no goals.

The Bavarian outfit also currently sit on top of Group A in the Champions League after winning their opening two matches against Villarreal and Manchester City, but second-placed Napoli look likely to give Bayern a good fight on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Lahm is confident his charges will be able to get a result at the Stadio San Paolo, and wants Bayern to win in order to issue a statement of intent to the other teams in the competition.

"We want to keep up our current form," Lahm said according to SID. "We are travelling to Naples in order to win our third game of the group stage.

"It is crucial to record good results in the Champions League. What happens there is what gets noticed by the other teams."

Lahm's team-mate Thomas Muller was equally confident of their prospects of winning despite playing away from home, and insists the daunting atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo does not faze any of the Bayern players.

"I really think that we will win the game.

"The atmosphere doesn't scare us.

"These kind of games are the icing on the cake for a professional."

Apart from leading Group A in the Champions League, Bayern are also top of the Bundesliga, five points ahead of second-placed Gladbach.