Even heroes get old

Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben won't last forever, Neuer, Boateng, Hummels and Alaba aren't what they used to be, and we all know what will eventually happen to Robert Lewandowski.

The stars of the current Bayern Munich team are, regrettably, getting older. They have been one of Europe's most feared and successful teams over recent years but Wednesday night's defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League confirmed that they're not immortal.

In recent campaigns, the club's president Uli Hoeness has tried to lower the average age of his squad in order to rejuvenate the side for the future. Signings sich as Serge Gnabry, Renato Sanches, Coman and Kimmich brought youthful talent to the squad.

But nothing yet quite compares to the talent and prowess of those Bayern players who are now mostly entering their thirties such as Neuer, Boateng, Hummels, Raginha, Javi Martinez, Ribery, Robben and Thomas Mueller (in September).

The new wave of youth and talent doesn't mean a complete elimination of the older players, but the coaches must now start to infiltrate the younger players were they can so that Bayern can maintain their European status as one of the team's to beat.