Thomas Tuchel was left ruing having to make "last minute decisions" regarding his Bayern Munich team selection as they slumped to a three-goal defeat at Manchester City.
Bayern’s record in the Champions League this season prior to Tuesday night was nothing short of remarkable. Julian Nagelsmann had guided his side to victory in each of their eight matches, including a double of wins over each of Barcelona, Inter and Paris Saint-Germain – those six triumphs came with clean sheets.
Rodri’s stunning opening goal ensured there would be no repeat against City with Thomas Tuchel’s furious reaction speaking volumes. The coach could not hide his rage on the touchline, turning away in disgust with his hands in the air.
The Spaniard’s strike in itself was unstoppable, but Bayern had specifically planned to shut down that area of the midfield. Tuchel’s selection of Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich was with an eye on closing off the central area in front of the penalty shootout, yet Rodri had too much time to pick out his effort.
Yet the main headline of the coach’s team selection - decided by his own admission just earlier in the day - was in attack. The ever-reliable Thomas Muller was only a substitute and interestingly, he could be seen talking to Tuchel and Bayern coaches throughout the opening hour. A future in the dugout for the decorated Germany international awaits, but his absence from the starting line-up was telling – this was all about pace in attack.
Without Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, their only recognised central striker, Bayern’s attack was about fluidity. City always play a high defensive line, with goalkeeper Ederson regularly sweeping up behind them, but there would be space behind their defence to play into.
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Instead, it was the trio of Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman operating around playmaker Jamal Musiala, given the nod ahead of Muller. There was no place for former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who also had to make do with an appearance from the bench.
It was former City star Sane who provided the greatest threat, three times threatening the home side’s goal either side of the break. He flashed a dipping shot from range narrowly wide and after half-time, racing through on goal but being denied by a superb reactive Ederson stop. The Brazilian thwarted another long-range Sane effort minutes later.
It was indicative of a Bayern side who, despite being largely under the cosh for the opening 40 minutes, turned the screw thereafter and imposed themselves on the game. It was a tactic that Tuchel had used frequently during his meetings against him whilst Chelsea boss.
Tuchel triumphed over Guardiola three times in the space of 42 memorable days in the 2020-21 campaign. A 1-0 FA Cup semi-final victory was followed by a 2-1 comeback win at the Etihad in a Premier League meeting before, most famously of all day, edging out the Champions League final in Porto 1-0.
Last season, Guardiola’s City twice triumphed 1-0 in more dominant yet competitive encounters. The scoreline here looked set to follow that trend until the home side accelerated away from their opponents in the final third of the game as Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland both netted.
Tuchel was appointed as Bayern boss and was tasked with winning a treble with the club, but they have already been eliminated from the German Cup – having been eliminated by Freiburg last week – and are now on the brink of Champions League elimination.
Everything now rests on winning the Bundesliga, again, but Tuchel will be left ruing this damaging night for his side and must prepare for a second leg in which they will need nothing short of a miracle to progress.
