In preparation for Tuesday's Champions League match between Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel has talked about how he plans to stop Erling Haaland.
This week's heavyweight quarterfinal contest will pit two of Europe's most effective teams against one another. The recent eight-game winning streak for Man City has been largely attributed to the exceptional play of Haaland, who has scored an absurdly high 10 goals in his last three games. The aforementioned 10 goals raised Haaland's season total to 44 across all competitions.
When asked how he planned to stop the apparently unstoppable attacker before of Tuesday's match, Tuchel recalled some instruction he received from Johan Cruyff.
"Johan Cruyff, with whom I had the pleasure of speaking, described a forward whom Barcelona could never manage until they stopped marking him, at which point he stopped scoring. Therefore, we won't do that tomorrow."
When asked if he would use his previous victory over City with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final against Pep Guardiola's team, Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel stated he had no plans to discuss that match with his players.
"We didn't say a word about this conclusion, and we won't do it.
"I would feel quite uncomfortable doing this. Now, we concentrate on our group. I would have liked a few extra weeks or months to get to know our team better, but we don't have that luxury, so there's no issue. We are anticipating it, and we hope it brings out the best in us.
"Man City's style of play is rather obvious. Pep has been around for at least six or seven years, as is evident. It represents the pinnacle in European football at the moment. They are the benchmark. And they're in excellent shape.
Matthijs de Ligt, a defender for Bayern, joined Tuchel for the media responsibilities and offered his own commentary on halting Haaland and the flow of passes into him.
"I predict that this game will be challenging. He excels both within and outside the box "says he.
"What counts is how well we organized both the defense and the midfield. Although Haaland is amazing, he will have a harder time if Kevin De Bruyne doesn't make effective crosses or passes for him. To stop someone like Haaland, I believe our entire team must be in excellent physical condition."
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