Pep Guardiola has coached modern greats such as Lionel Messi, Philipp Lahm, Andres Iniesta and Xavi — and on Tuesday night added a new name to the list.
Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea got the better of Guardiola three times in his first four months, but last night the Manchester City manager exacted some revenge. City gradually took hold of a rather even affair, eventually beating Bayern Munich 3-0 to put themselves in a commanding position ahead of next week's second leg at the Allianz Arena.
Bernardo Silva assisted Rodri’s first-half stunner and then scored City’s second with a fine header in the 70th minute. The Portugal international also completed eight tackles — the most of any player in a single Champions League knockout match for the last three seasons. It was an individual performance that left Guardiola purring.
“He can play everywhere, because he understands the game perfectly in every action with and without the ball,” Guardiola said. “Bernardo is so important a player.
“You say: ‘You are going to play in that position’, and you don’t have to say anything else. He understands everything. I was lucky as a manager to have incredible players in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he is one of the best players I ever trained in my life. He is something special.”
He continued: “When you are there, you realise how good Bayern Munich are. Part of the game they were better than us. It was not comfortable. Emotionally, I am destroyed; I have [aged] ten more years today. It’s an incredible result.
“I spent three years there and I know in Europe this team is special. To knock out these types of teams, you have to have two good games, not just one. Here in our stadium we are something special this season — we are clinical.”
After Rodri’s long-range belter and Bernardo Silva’s header past Yann Sommer, City pulled away from Bayern in the match and the tie when John Stones found Erling Haaland to make it three. It was Haaland’s 11th goal in just seven Champions League games this season.
“We’ve had a lot of bad experiences in this competition in the past, so it is not over,” Bernardo Silva said about the two-legged tie. “I don’t score a lot of headers, but I am very happy to score this one. We are just one step closer to where we want to be, but if you blink for a second, you are out.”
Tuchel felt the Bavarians deserved better than the battering they were given at the Etihad.
“I’ll try to convince my players not to focus on the result, because I think it is not a deserved result. It does not tell the story of this match. We did not get the rewards we deserved. Everybody is disappointed.”
