Manchester City v Bayern Munich: Sleepless nights for Thomas Tuchel before Champions League quarter-final
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted to experiencing sleepless nights ahead of his team’s Champions League encounter with Manchester City.
Tuchel, who was sacked by Chelsea in September, has beaten a team managed by Pep Guardiola only three times in their 10 previous meetings.
The last time Tuchel beat Guardiola was in 2021 when Chelsea beat City in the Champions League final.
Tuchel believes that his team will have to play at the “top of their game” to defeat City, who have won their past eight games in all competitions.
“I will try to go to bed early. I hope I will be able to sleep,” he said.
“The best preparation is sleep but sometimes it is hard to get that sleep when you’re thinking about things.
“This morning I woke up really early and I just decided to go to the training ground because I couldn’t get back to sleep. I just kept thinking about the match.”
Joao Cancelo returns to Manchester
Tuesday’s match will see Bayern full-back Joao Cancelo return to Manchester for the first time since his January loan move from City.
On Cancelo facing his parent club, Tuchel said: “I hope he can manage his emotions and he is not over-motivated and over-excited.
“But I also hope he is not too shy. It is not enough to know it. A lot of people know smoking is bad for you but they still do it.”
The Bayern manager says discussions have not yet taken place as to whether Bayern will make Cancelo’s move permanent. Tuchel has not been able to get much sleep as he is constantly thinking about the match, but he will try to go to bed early and hopes to get some rest before the game.
