"I don’t agree with the result at all" - Thomas Tuchel praises Bayern Munich performance despite 3-0 loss to Manchester City in UCL
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has heaped praise on his side despite the Bavarian giants suffering a 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Pep Guardiola's side have set one foot in the semifinals with a resounding home win against Bayern in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Tuesday (April 12). Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland scored for Manchester City to ensure that the Cityzens are in pole position ahead of the second leg.
Despite his side's heavy defeat, Tuchel lavished praise on his team and said that they deserved something from the game. The former Chelsea boss told Amazon Prime, as quoted by Metro:
"I don’t agree with the result at all. 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."
Tuchel insisted that he enjoyed how Bayern fared against the Premier League champions:
"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."
Tuchel also vowed that his side will give everything in the second leg as they look to make an epic comeback:
"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!"
The second leg of the quarte-final between Manchester City and Bayern Munich will take place at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday (April 19).
Former Bayern Munich star says Manchester City's Pep Guardiola isn't best manager in the world
Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann has said that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola should not be considered the best manager in the world.
Hamann told German outlet Solinger Tageblatt (h/t HITC):
"Guardiola has not managed anything that others have not managed. Everybody tells you that Pep Guardiola is the super father of coaches. But he was in a Champions League final with Man City, and he lost that himself. And now people tell me he’s the best manager in the world, I’m sorry."
Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane (both three) and Carlo Ancelotti (four) have won more Champions League titles than Guardiola. Guardiola won the Champions League twice with Barcelona but has not been able to clinch the European crown with Bayern Munich and Manchester City.