Tuchel haunts Pep again as Bayern threaten Man City's UCL dreams
An illustration of the UEFA Champions League trophy between Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel (L) and Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola (R). (Illustration by Büsra Şen)


Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have a score to settle at home in Tuesday's quarterfinal first leg of the Champions League against Bayern Munich and their newly appointed gaffer Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel emerged victorious as Chelsea manager in City's first, and so far only, run to the Champions League final in 2021.

That was also the closest Guardiola has come in 10 tries during spells at Barcelona, Bayern and City to land his third European Cup as a coach.

Chelsea's 1-0 win in front of largely empty Estadio do Dragao in Porto due to coronavirus restrictions two years ago was a case of the apprentice outshining the master.

As a young coach, Tuchel studied and admired Guardiola's dominant Barcelona side that won 14 trophies in four years from 2008 to 2012, including two Champions League titles.

Their paths then crossed during Guardiola's three years in charge at Bayern, while Tuchel was coach of Mainz and then Borussia Dortmund.

Two football obsessives, the pair even talked long into the night at a Munich bar in 2014, using glasses and salt and pepper shakers to mimic formations.

"I was such a huge admirer of Pep when he was a player, and then when he became a coach, it was like learning on the job for me," said Tuchel before the 2021 Champions League final.

"I was an academy coach and then in the Bundesliga with Mainz, but I don't think I missed a game (of Guardiola's Barcelona) because there was so much to learn."

The respect is mutual. Guardiola described Tuchel last season as "one of the few managers I learned from to develop (into) a better manager myself."

Champions League pedigree

Guardiola has tended to have the upper hand in clashes between the two.

Three Chelsea wins in six weeks towards the end of the 2020/21 season are Tuchel's only victories in 10 meetings between the two to Guardiola's six.

But he won the most important one, and his Champions League pedigree played a large part in Bayern's swoop to secure his services and sack Julian Nagelsmann in a shock move last month.

Tuchel also took Paris Saint-Germain to their maiden final in Europe's premier club competition in 2020 and took eventual winners Real Madrid to extra-time in the quarterfinals last year despite Chelsea being thrust into crisis by sanctions imposed on then-owner Roman Abramovich.

The 49-year-old now has the challenge of succeeding where Guardiola failed in leading Bayern back to Champions League glory.

But the weight of expectation falls much more heavily on the City boss.

In his seventh season in Manchester, Guardiola are in the running for his fifth Premier League title.

Yet the failure to get over the line in Europe remains a blot on his copybook.

"It doesn't mean I agree with that, but absolutely we will be judged by this competition," said Guardiola on the importance of winning the Champions League to his legacy at the Etihad.

The presence of Erling Haaland adds even more pressure on Guardiola to get the job done this year finally.

On Saturday, the Norwegian scored twice on his return from injury in a 4-1 win at Southampton, taking his tally for the season to 44.

Those numbers saw Guardiola draw comparisons between his star striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi.

But it was to make the difference when the acceptable margins count most in the latter stages of the Champions League that forced City to fight off competition from around Europe to land Haaland.

The 22-year-old has scored 33 goals in 25 Champions League appearances, including five in a 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the last 16.

Benfica host Inter

In another Champions League quarterfinals tie, Inter Milan and Benfica will meet, having to rebound from respective recent setbacks.

Inter have not won in over a month, while Benfica is coming off a tough loss to their biggest rival.

The first leg will be on Tuesday in Lisbon at the Stadium of Light, where on Friday, Benfica lost 2-1 to rival Porto in the Portuguese league to dent their almost perfect season.