Thomas Muller urges Bayern Munich to use cup criticism as Champions League motivation

German champions can seal place in last 16 with victory over Benfica

Thomas Mueller reacts after the victory over Union Berlin in the Bundesliga at the weekend. EPA

Thomas Muller says Bayern Munich must use their shock German Cup disaster to help them secure a spot in the Champions League knockout phase by beating Benfica on Tuesday.

"When FC Bayern crashes out of the cup with a 5-0 defeat, it's clear that one or two comments are made that are slightly below the belt," said Mueller.

The 32-year-old scored and created three assists on Saturday as Bayern romped to a 5-2 win at Union Berlin to stay top of the Bundesliga three days after their 5-0 cup thrashing at Borussia Monchengladbach.

In Europe, Bayern are five points clear in Group E and a win over second-placed Benfica would guarantee a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Bayern were hurt by a string of negative headlines amid the fallout of their shock cup defeat which Muller wants to use as extra motivation.

He said the criticism "is OK with me, we're not made of egg shells - you have to be able to take it sometimes, but we must not forget that we are still out of the cup.

"We didn't just lose a game, but [are out of] a competition that means a lot to us. We have to deal with that accordingly," he added.

Bayern suffer cup humiliation

Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, who netted twice in Berlin on Saturday, is set to make his 100th Champions League appearance.

The Poland star has already scored five goals in three European games this season.

He netted twice in both the 3-0 win at Barcelona and the 5-0 home rout of Dynamo Kiev before scoring again in the 4-0 romp against Benfica in Lisbon two weeks ago.

Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who missed the win in Portugal after testing positive for Covid-19, is expected to be back on the bench after spending 14 days at home in isolation.