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Thomas Tuchel has revealed the “slight underdog” in the Champions League clash between Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
The German outfit travel to the Etihad this evening to take on Pep Guardiola’s side in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The return leg is then scheduled for next Wednesday, with old foes Tuchel and Guardiola set to go head-to-head in the dugout.
Tuchel reveals underdog in UCL clash
Tuchel is returning to England for the very first time since he was sacked by Chelsea in September, with the manager not boasting a very good record against his opposite number.
The German has only beaten a side managed by Guardiola on three occasions out of 10. One of those meetings was, however, the 2021 Champions League final, where Chelsea edged past City. Guardiola then twice defeated Chelsea in the Premier League before Tuchel was sacked.
But he is now back in management with Bayern Munich, with the manager winning his first match in charge, defeating his former club Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in the Bundesliga.
A shock 2-1 home loss to Freiburg followed in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals, with Tuchel getting his revenge shortly after with a 1-0 league victory.
The boss is now preparing for his toughest test yet in his brief Bayern Munich career, with City currently going strong under Guardiola in all competitions.
“It is a major task in front of us,” said Tuchel, as quoted by BBC Sport. “I was just outside [at Etihad Stadium] and that is the current gold standard for us.
“We want to live up to that but the team is entitled to be confident after our results and performances in the Champions League so far and we have to try to continue like that.
“Maybe we play in a role of slight underdog, which is not a problem. We’ll try to make the most of it. We need to be confident and on top of our game.”
Tuchel not looking back
While City have been flying high lately, Bayern have been the dominant team in this season’s Champions League, winning all six of their group matches before easing past PSG in the round of 16.
That success did, however, come under Tuchel’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, who has been strongly linked with the Chelsea job since losing his role as Bayern Munich boss.
But Tuchel has proven himself at the likes of the Blues, PSG and Dortmund, and will certainly be confident of giving City a challenge in tonight’s meeting.
As mentioned, the two bosses have come face to face several times, but Tuchel is not looking for inspiration from those other games ahead of the clash this evening.
Like Bayern, City are unbeaten in this season’s Champions League, winning four and drawing two of their six group matches before a 1-1 draw and a stunning 7-0 win over RB Leipzig in the round of 16.
“I don’t think I can learn much from other games I’ve played against Pep,” added Tuchel. “It’s unique what Pep does. We’ll try to find solutions but we’ll need a complete performance to create problems for City.”
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