Thomas Tuchel admits Bayern Munich need a “miracle” to qualify for the Champions League semi-final … but reckons a Stoke City flop might be able to help them pull it off.
Eric Choupo-Moting, who had a forgettable season with Stoke back in 2017/18, is Bayern’s top scorer this season but missed the first leg at the Etihad with a knee injury. But Choupo-Moting, 34, trained on the eve of the second leg at the Allianz Arena and is in the frame to start against Manchester City as the German champions try to overcome a three-goal deficit.
Choupo-Moting has 17 goals in all competitions for a Bayern side that has scored only three times in its last four matches. And it is clear he will play a vital part for Tuchel, the Bayern boss saying: “We have to see his reaction after training to see if his knee will react or not.
“If he gets the green light then he’s an option for the starting 11 - he is our number nine, he is the player in this position and this is a position where he is successful. He is good at free-kicks and good at defending free-kicks. Man City has been dominating the Premier League in free-kicks in attack and defence. If he gets the green light, he will play.”
But even if his most dangerous striker does make the starting line-up, Tuchel knows he is almost facing a mission impossible. The former Chelsea manager went on: “We need a miracle … and it would be a miracle actually. But if we have luck, everything is possible in football.”
Tuchel will also be able to call on the services of Sadio Mane after the Senegalese striker had to serve a one-match club ban for punching team-mate Leroy Sane in the aftermath of the 3-0 defeat at the Etihad a week ago. Tuchel said: “Sadio is in the squad and we are not talking about the incident anymore – the decision was taken, we will have to wait until tomorrow to see if he starts or not, or whether he comes off the bench.”
While Tuchel does have options upfront - Thomas Muller is still going strong - he knows Bayern, who have been knocked out at the quarter-final stage in the two previous years, are facing the most formidable of challenges. He said: “I felt momentum could have shifted to our sider during the first match but I was proven wrong.
“We were punished brutally. The thing is that they are in top shape, they arrive here in full confidence in the decisive moments of the season. It seems like they have had their difficult spell already. They are the benchmark in Europe.
“But in one match, anything can happen - a whole thing can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye. If the door is a little bit open, you have to put your feet in.”
