Tuchel hopes to ‘ win first half’ as Bundesliga giants Bayern face uphill battle against Manchester City
Bayern Munich have their work cut out as they look to overturn a big deficit in their Champions League quarter-final return leg against Manchester City today, but coach Thomas Tuchel believes a strong first-half performance can spark a turnaround.
The Bavarians have struggled in the past weeks since Tuchel’s arrival in late March, having been eliminated in the German Cup last eight by Freiburg before a 3-0 defeat at City in the Champions League first leg last week.
They then slumped to a 1-1 home draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, even as the Bavarians also banned forward Sadio Mane for a game after he hit teammate Leroy Sane after the game in Manchester.
Tuchel said any talk of a 4-0 or 5-0 win against City, a team that is unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, was fanciful.
“We cannot talk about a miracle and expect it to just come by talking about it. We have to have a realistic level,” Tuchel said on yesterday.
“To talk about 4-0 or 5-0 is not appropriate and given our performance on Saturday I don’t know if everyone believes it 100 per cent. What we want to do is win the first half. That is the first goal. Then anything can happen, if we also get that bit of luck we did not have in the first game. It is a huge mountain to climb. We want to believe but don’t want to be dreamers.”
Bayern are struggling for goals, having struck only three times in their last four matches in all competitions. Facing a 3-0 deficit, they need to raise their game by many levels.
“We are not happy and we are working on it,” said Tuchel of his team’s finishing. “We are missing some confidence, some lightness. You can feel it. We struggle with it. We overthink it.”
Tuchel can count on the return of striker Eric- Maxim Choupo-Moting, who missed Bayern’s last three games with a knee injury but took part in training yesterday.
“We’ll have to see how his knee reacts to our final session, but if we get the green light he is definitely an option,” said the Bayern coach.
Senegal international Mane will also return to the squad after his suspension. Tuchel insisted that Bayern had put the episode behind them and rejected City manager Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that the internal conflict could give Bayern a boost in the second leg.
“I see Pep’s point. We wanted to turn it into positive energy for the next game, but we didn’t really do that against Hoffenheim. I don’t think it will make a difference on Wednesday,” he said.
Meanwhile, City have submitted a planning application to expand the capacity of their Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000 in a £300 million investment.
The new development will add around 7,000 new seats to the stadium. The plans also include a new covered fan zone, integrated into the stadium behind the north stand, and a new club shop along with a museum and hotel.
Bayern are struggling for goals, having struck only three times in their last four matches in all competitions