In Flick Bayern trust

LISBON • Bayern Munich head into tomorrow's Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in impeccable form and with a real chance to become the first team to win the competition with a 100 per cent record.

The fact that the Bavarian giants have reached the European Cup final in every decade from the 1970s shows the club's consistency and results this season speak of their current domination of opponents - at home and abroad.

They have not been beaten this year, picking up a record-extending eighth straight Bundesliga title and the German Cup for the 20th time along the way.

The lack of competition in the domestic league has also not hampered Bayern, who won all six games in the Champions League group stage, including big wins over last season's finalists, Tottenham, before beating Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and crushing Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals.

No team have ever won the title in the Champions League era with a 100 per cent record and the only other side to reach the final by winning all their games were AC Milan in 1993, with the Serie A side losing the decider to Marseille.

But former Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick feels Bayern are primed to break the mould, telling Kicker magazine: "In the past 30 years, they have never played at such a high level tactically as they are at the moment under Hansi Flick."

Flick, 55, will write himself into Bayern folklore should they lift their sixth European Cup and second-ever treble in what is his first job as a head coach.

He was initially appointed as only the interim boss when Niko Kovac was sacked last November, but he has won over all doubters.

"We can all be happy that we chose Hansi Flick and put our trust in him," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "He's returned that trust a hundredfold."

Bayern have won 32 of their 35 games under Flick, earning him a contract extension until 2023.

With a 20-game winning streak behind them, the players are confident ahead of the final with PSG.

"Our game hasn't been so well organised since (former coach) Pep Guardiola," said forward Thomas Muller.

"Hansi Flick has always been a great guy, very clear in what he tells us."

Midfielder Corentin Tolisso said: "He's a good coach who talks a lot with his players and gives them a lot of confidence."

For 19-year-old Alphonso Davies, who is set to make history as the first Canadian to play in the final, this will be the culmination of a breakthrough year that has seen the full-back heralded as the best player to have ever come out of Major League Soccer.

"It's everything you can ask for," he said.

"It feels good, everyone's happy and playing well. Paris are a good team, it's going to be a good game, there's going to be goals in it.

"This is what you dream of as a footballer - playing against the best in Europe. I'm excited."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS