UCL: Man City thrash Bayern Munich 3-0 at Etihad

Manchester City took total control of their Champions League quarter-final tie with an emphatic 3-0 first-leg win over Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, April 11.

Rodri’s curling shot from distance in the first half gave Pep Guardiola’s side the lead against the Bayern Munich before Bernardo Silva headed in a second after the interval.

Leroy Sane tested Ederson repeatedly in between but Bayern’s defensive frailty was clear.

Erling Haaland, without so much as a draw in seven games against these opponents as a Borussia Dortmund player, exposed that fragility in volleying home the third goal for City.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola, who came up against his former club for the first time since leaving Bayern for Manchester in 2016, said: “I’ve been three years there and I know in Europe this team is special. To knockout these type of teams you have to make two good games not just one.

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“I know exactly what we have to do there, They are capable to score one, two, three goals. We have to do our game with huge personality.”

City also partially settled a Champions League score with Bayern Munich boss, Thomas Tuchel, who beat Guardiola’s men to lift the trophy as Chelsea manager in the 2021 final.

Tuchel was appointed less than three weeks ago by the German champions with one eye on this tie, saying he believed his side deserved more.

“I try to not allow my players to focus on the result because it is not the deserved result, it does not tell the story of this match.

“I’ve seen so many good things that I refuse to just focus on the result. You may say ‘that’s not Bayern’ but I was very proud on the sideline, we were courageous and showed the right character,” Tuchel said.

The second leg takes place in Munich on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

The Star