Bayern Munich vs Atletico de Madrid - Antoine Griezmann confident Atletico can get a positive result in Munich

Posted Monday, December 05, 2016 by PA

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann says that Bayern Munich have lost a bit of their fear factor as his side prepare to visit the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

The Spanish side knocked Bayern out of the Champions League in the semi-finals last season and a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture has helped them wrap up top spot in their group ahead of Tuesday's trip to Munich.

Their aim will be to end their group campaign with a perfect record of six wins out of six, and Griezmann believes that is not out of the question.

"They are technically no longer as good as they were under Pep Guardiola," Griezmann told Germany's Sky Sport.

The 25-year-old, who is on the shortlist for the world's best footballer of 2016 along with Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, does not believe it will be a walk in the park for his team, however.

While Bayern may not have the quality they had under Guardiola - in Griezmann's eyes - they have greater depth to their game than they did under the Catalan.

"They have become dangerous in a different way and are perhaps even harder to fathom now," said the Frenchman.

"They come at you down the right, the left and through the middle, and that makes it hard to defend against them."

Especially against Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, even if the latter has yet to score in the Bundesliga this season.

"Lewandowski's a monster in front of goal," Griezmann said. "And Muller's a top player who I really enjoy watching.

"We will do all we can to get a draw or even a win there. I would take a nice draw, let's say a 1-1."

While Bayern are already resigned to finishing second behind the Spaniards, they will nevertheless be keen to end the group phase by gaining a bit of revenge against the side who ended their title dreams prematurely last term.

The Bavarians have been beaten only twice at home to Spanish opposition, winning 17 and drawing five.

Their overall record against Spanish sides is positive too, although they have lost five of their last seven meetings with Iberian clubs, most painfully in each of the last three semi-finals against Atletico, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Philipp Lahm will draw level with Oliver Kahn on 102 Champions League appearances - a club record - should he lead Bayern onto the field, while Holger Badstuber and Xabi Alonso are both options for coach Carlo Ancelotti after returning to training on Sunday.