In some circles, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has developed a little bit of a reputation for overthinking his lineups and strategies ahead of big games.
Against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, however, Guardiola was completely on-point. Everything he did…worked en route to a 3-0 victory for City.
“I know that this Bayern team is special. We got a good result, but we need two strong games. Anything can happen at Allianz Arena. I know that because I was at Bayern for three years,” told Abendzeitung’s Patrick Strasser (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
One other thing that Guardiola has become known for is being smart with not putting out bulletin board material. Guardiola does not want to give the Bayern Munich players any extra reason to dig down deep aside of the pride that is inevitably going to be burning inside of them when they hit the pitch at the Allianz Arena.
“It was not comfortable. Emotionally I’m destroyed. I have 10 more years today. It was such a demanding game,” Guardiola told Goal. “Now I have to relax, a day off for the guys, and prepare for Leicester. I know exactly what you have to do there [in the second leg against Bayern]. If you don’t perform really well they are able to score one, two, three. I know that. The players know that. It’s an incredible result, but we have to play our game with a huge, huge personality.
“We don’t need to tell them [his players] the warnings. Three years there and I know in Europe this team especially, you have to have a really good performance. To knock out these teams you have to have two good games, not just one.”
Manchester City’s upcoming jaunt to Germany will be a business trip for the Citizens and their boss will be sure to let them know the importance of not letting the anticipation, the crowd, and Bayern Munich’s survival instinct get the better of them.
Interested in an in-depth, two person review of the game? Well then check out our postgame podcast! Chuck and INNN harshly critique everything that went wrong in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City, from individual player performances to tactics, transfers, and the board themselves. Listen to it below or on Spotify.