Pep Guardiola requests that Manchester City 'punish' Bayern Munich in the second leg.
Despite having a 3-0 lead over Bayern Munich in the quarterfinal second leg on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola has urged Manchester City to aim to "punish" Bayern Munich instead of dwelling on previous Champions League eliminations.
Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland's goals gave City a decisive advantage in the opening match at the Etihad Stadium last week, making them the favorites to advance to the semi-final. However, before that game and after Leipzig was defeated 7-0 in the previous round, Guardiola mentioned how Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Monaco eliminated City in past seasons despite giving up "lots of goals" against those teams.
The manager was questioned about how he could guarantee that these and other comparable knockouts—by Liverpool and Lyon—would not be on the minds of his players on Wednesday at the Allianz Arena. We must focus on the present because doing otherwise would be a grave error for us, he said. Guardiola cited the 1-0 deficit as an example.
to Tottenham in 2019 in a quarter-final opening leg became a 4-4 aggregate defeat on away goals. “It was completely different – we were down,” he said.
"Our approach will be to watch the first leg and analyze what we could have done better, as well as how we can take control of the game and punish them, in order to prepare for the [Bayern] game."We are playing one of the most storied teams in the Champions League here in Munich, but we are not there to protect [the advantage]. In this particular game, it's 11 men versus 11, and the goal is to outperform the opposition. Our approach is to try to win the match.
Guardiola was questioned about how City would manage the battle if they gave up first. "I would like to answer yes, but I'm unsure. Every game is unique," he remarked. "The pace they're moving at up front is incredible. We cannot exert the same pressure They constantly find a way because they have the tools to comprehend what we do. We will win if we do all of this, but I'm not sure what will happen.
Phil Foden is once again available for Guardiola following an emergency appendectomy. For us, it's good news. He will sit on the sidelines because he just had one practice. I'm not sure how long he can go for, but because of his uniqueness, he just needs a few training sessions to stay in shape.
Ilkay Gündogan made a similar cautious statement to his boss. Finding a balance is important since our squad approaches every game with the intention of winning it. To win, we need to have the ball and possess it, but we also need to play in a a responsible manner," the German midfielder stated.
We have learned from our own games and past experiences that everything is possible. We take it extremely seriously since you can receive unbelievable results that you won't believe beforehand.
The closing season marks the contract expiration of Gündogan. There are ongoing discussions, which is expected given the remaining time, he said. "There is still no decision, not from my side or the club's side; the discussions are ongoing. It also depends on my physical health whether I depart or not.
Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that his group has to have hope for future growth. The head coach of Bayern Munich declared, "We need a miracle. "We need to play two more halves [on Wednesday] to complete the tie. If we have a strong first half, it might occur in the second. We are aware that anything is possible in football if the right circumstances arise and we have good luck. However, there are times when everything comes together, including crucial decisions made by the referee, offsides, and chances that are saved. We must develop self-belief, but that does not entail dreaming.
It is challenging and a very large mountain to climb. We need to have faith in ourselves, but we also don't want to be daydreamers because, in my opinion, if you can't do one thing, you can't even fantasize for a second. We must have faith and act with enthusiasm, teamwork, and performance.
Sadio Mané will be available once more after serving a one-game suspension for punching Leroy Sané in the Bayern changing room at the Eithad Stadium during the first leg last week. Tuchel may use Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting at center forward.
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