Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Bayern Munich will be considered as underdogs when they face Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, manager Thomas Tuchel said
In his most challenging match since taking charge of the Bundesliga club last month, the German manager will be hoping to pull off another win over City having guided his former club Chelsea to the Champions League title with victory over Pep Guardiola’s side in the 2021 Champions League final.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern have won the Europe’s premier club competition six times whereas City are still hunting for their first, but despite that record Tuchel feels all the pressure will be on the Manchester side.
“Tomorrow, we will have the role of the underdog and that is okay. We have to stay confident and stay on top of our game,” Tuchel told reporters on Monday.
When asked how Bayern would deal with City, Tuchel said: “Pep’s teams always have his own unique style. We will try to find ways of competing both with and without the ball.
“There will be moments where we will be suffering and we will have to defend as a block, try to overcome that and try to get more possession.”
Defender Matthijs de Ligt echoed the sentiment of Tuchel, emphasising the importance of stopping City’s midfield from supporting their front row, especially Champions League’s leading scorer Erling Haaland.
“It will obviously be a tough game. It’s important that our defence is well-organised. Haaland is a fantastic player, but it will be difficult for him if he doesn’t get good passes from his team mates.”
Earlier on Monday, Bayern announced that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting would miss the match with a knee injury. Tuchel said he had a shortlist of replacements.
Benfica face Inter Milan
Benfica have quickly put behind them their Primeira Liga defeat to Porto on Friday and are fully focused on Wednesday’s other Champions League tie against Inter Milan, coach Roger Schmidt insisted.
Benfica lost only their second league game of the season in a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Porto but still hold a seven-point advantage over their rivals at the top of the standings.
The result, however, raised questions about Benfica’s form going into the first leg of their quarter-final in Lisbon.
GǣIt’s part of football that sometimes you lose games. On Friday we lost an important game, but weG��ve won a lot before and we always try to use the wins to develop and to grow and also with the defeats you can use them to create some positive,Gǥ Schmidt told a Monday news conference.
Benfica have won 23 of 27 league matches this season and also qualified for the Champions League last eight for a second successive season.
GǣI saw my team very quickly looking forward again. For the last few days we were completely focused on the game against Inter,Gǥ the German-born coach added
Inter have not been in top form either, having gone six games without a win in all competitions, but Schmidt cautioned against taking them lightly.
“In the knockout stage you have to expect the opponent at their top level. For both teams itG��s very important, both expended a lot of energy to reach this round.
– Reuters
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