Thomas Tuchel “fell in love” with Bayern Munich in a damaging 3-0 defeat to Manchester City he described as “a lot of fun” on Tuesday.
Bayern’s hopes of advancing to the Champions League semi-finals look to be in tatters following a one-sided scoreline in their last-eight first leg in Manchester.
City were undoubtedly deserving winners, with Opta counting four big chances to Bayern’s one.
But the Bundesliga giants bossed 56 per cent of the possession as City were forced to play without the ball; only on four occasions under Pep Guardiola have they seen less of the play.
That might have been the source of Tuchel’s optimism then, as the man who led Chelsea to a 2021 final victory over City revelled in a loss that will likely cost his new side.
“I don’t agree with the result at all,” he told Prime Video. “We were punished in phases in which we were the better team. We were simply brutally punished today.
Full time.
♦️ #MCIFCB 3-0 ♦️ pic.twitter.com/fh358ANDvy
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) April 11, 2023
“I thought our performance was very good until 2-0. I don’t want to talk down the result; I saw a very good performance until the 70th minute.
“I think we deserved at least one goal and gave away one or two too many. I think our players were lacking a bit in confidence and form. Of course, the result is bitter for us.
“I fell in love with my team a little today, the way they performed. Even if sounds strange, that was a lot of fun.”