Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes is hoping to win the UEFA Champions League for the third time in his career. - © © imago / Action Pictures
Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes is hoping to win the UEFA Champions League for the third time in his career. - © © imago / Action Pictures

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes wins record 12th successive UEFA Champions League game in victory over Sevilla

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Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has extended his new UEFA Champions League record for successive victories after watching his side beat Sevilla 2-1 in Spain in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Tuesday.

The win, which puts Bayern in a strong position ahead of the second leg in Germany next week, means that the 72-year-old has been triumphant in each of the last 12 matches he has overseen in the competition. That run dates back to his previous spell in charge of the club in 2012/13, when he led the Bavarians to an unprecedented treble.

Heynckes was characteristically modest when asked about his accomplishment after breaking the previous record following a 3-1 win over Besiktas in the last 16: "It doesn't mean that much to me. What matters more is that my team wins, plays well and keeps developing."

Only two managers had previously reached double figures in terms of consecutive Champions victories: Louis van Gaal (with Barcelona and Bayern, between May 2000 and September 2009) and Carlo Ancelotti - Heynckes’ predecessor - who achieved the feat with Real Madrid between April 2014 and February 2015.

In 2012/13, Bayern won all five matches they played from the quarter-finals on, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one in two-legged ties against Juventus and Barcelona, and in the final against Borussia Dortmund.

Watch: Highlights of Heynckes' 2012/13 treble-winning season

Since Heynckes’ return this season they had won four group games – two against Celtic, one against Anderlecht and one against Paris Saint-Germain – before victories in each leg of their tie against Besiktas and their first meeting against Sevilla.

Heynckes, who previously led Real Madrid to Champions League glory in 1998, is hoping to reach the final for a fourth time as a coach – and in so doing keep up his astonishing record of making the decider in every Champions League campaign he has taken part in.

The sides he has managed have earned an average of over 2.3 points per game across the 34 matches he has taken charge of in the Champions League. That means the former Borussia Mönchengladbach striker has the best record of any currently active manager, just ahead of Real’s Zinedine Zidane and Manchester City’s ex-Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

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