Pep Guardiola has insisted that he has been left emotionally “destroyed” after Manchester City comfortably beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
City, who played in their first Champions League final in 2021, stepped one foot closer to reaching the semi-finals after their first-leg quarter-final win at the Etihad.
Rodri fired City into a first-half lead with a stunning strike before Bernardo Silva doubled their advantage in the second half with a fine bullet header.
Erling Haaland added his side’s third only six minutes after Silva’s header, with the in-form City striker taking his incredible goalscoring tally to 45 for the season.
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City will travel to the Allianz Arena on 19th April for the return leg against Bayern, with Thomas Tuchel’s men facing an uphill task in overturning a 3-0 aggregate deficit.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Guardiola claimed that the Champions League tie was a “demanding” match and plans to “relax” ahead of the Leicester City match.
“Emotionally, I’m destroyed,” he said.
“I have [aged] 10 more years today. It was such a demanding game. Now I have to relax, a day off for the guys, prepare for Leicester [on Saturday].
“I know exactly what you have to do there [in Munich]. If you don’t perform really well, they are able to score one, two, three. I know that.
“The players know that. It’s an incredible result, but we have to do our game with huge, huge personality.”
Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern boss last month, admitted that he had “very mixed feelings” about the final scoreline after the way his side played.
“I won’t allow the players to focus on the result,” he said.
“It’s not deserved, and it does not tell the story of this match. That will be the challenge, to focus on things we did good.
“We played with personality, courage, the right attitude and with a lot of quality.
“Everybody is disappointed, and we have very mixed feelings. I told the players, and they felt this does not feel like 3-0; but it is 3-0, and it’s a huge, huge task to turn it around.
“We will not give up, and a home match in Germany is a home match in Germany, and it will not be over until we’re in the shower.”
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Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Champions League, Football
Adnan Riaz