-
‘That was a lot of fun!’ – Thomas Tuchel praises Bayern and claims that their 3-0 defeat was not deserved.
After losing 3-0 to Manchester City in the Champions League, Thomas Tuchel lauded Bayern Munich’s performance and said he “fell in love” with his players.
Rodri’s magnificent long-range shot, which he feathered into the top corner with his weaker left foot at the Etihad after 27 minutes, gave the German champions, who have had a very inconsistent season by their normal standards, a deficit.
However, Bayern fought back at the beginning of the second half and pushed Ederson into many excellent saves, but a mistake from Dayot Upamecano allowed City to score a second goal by Bernardo Silva.
Erling Haaland’s goal to make it 3-0 seemed to end the contest after Yann Sommer made a series of outstanding saves in the face of City’s nine shots on goal during the game.
Tuchel, though, was pleased with what he saw from his team – who actually had 56% possession, the most by an opposing team at the Etihad since Pep Guardiola took charge – and insists the quarter-final tie is not over yet.
‘I don’t agree with the result at all,’ said the former Chelsea boss to Amazon Prime after the match.
‘We were punished in periods where we were the better team. We were just brutally punished today.
‘I thought our performance was very good until the 2-0 goal. I don’t want to talk down the result, I thought it was a very good performance until the 70th minute.
‘I think we deserved at least one goal and gave away one or two too many. I think our players lacked a bit of confidence and form. Obviously the result is bitter for us. I fell a little bit in love with my team today, the way they performed. Even if it sounds strange, it was a lot of fun.’
On Bayern’s hopes of a comeback, he added to BT Sport: ‘It’s football. It’s a home match. It’s a German team. We will never give up until the shower is warm after the match!’
Guardiola also felt Bayern played extremely well despite the scoreline and was put through the wringer on the sidelines, saying at his post-match press conference: ‘It was not comfortable. Emotionally I am destroyed.
‘I have [aged] 10 more years today. It was so demanding and now I have to relax, day off and then Leicester and travel again.
‘I know what we have to do. If you don’t perform they are able to score one, two, three. I know that and the players know it. It was an incredible result but we do our game with huge personality.
‘Here we have our chances, especially this season and we are clinical. It’s the same in Munich. I have been there for three years and I remember what it means and the people. We are going there to score goals and to try and win the game.’