Bayern Munich suffered a massive setback on Tuesday in their pursuit of winning the Champions League. The Bavarian club conceded three goals without response against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium. Bayern will have to come up with a miraculous performance at Allianz Arena next week to book a place in the semi-final.
Thomas Tuchel started with Serge Gnabry in the number nine role due to the absence of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The German coach also deployed Jamal Musiala in the number ten role, while Thomas Muller started on the bench against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s men were eager to set the tone of the game straightaway as they gave Bayern no breathing space in the first 15 minutes. However, Die Roten recovered from the slow start and started building promising attacking moves, but they lacked the cutting edge in the final third to finish the moves.
Just when Bayern was looking to pile the pressure on Manchester City, they ended up conceding an outrageous goal from Rodri. The Spaniard curled the ball into the top corner with his weaker left foot from the edge of the box. Yann Sommer had no chance to save that shot as it was very well placed by the Spanish midfielder.
The home side was close to doubling the lead a few minutes later as Sommer denied Ilkay Gundogan with his foot. At the other end of the pitch, Leroy Sane was Bayern’s best forward. The German winger was making the right decisions with the ball, but Die Roten was failing to convert these half chances.
Sane continued to create problems for Manchester City early in the second half. He had two good strikes saved by Ederson as Bayern looked for an early goal after the restart. Manchester City also created chances, but Die Roten looked the more likely to score the next goal in the game until a poor mistake from Dayot Upamecano.
The French defender lost possession in a dangerous situation, allowing Erling Haaland to deliver an inch-perfect cross for Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder calmly headed the ball past Sommer to double Man City’s lead. After conceding the second goal, there was a complete capitulation at the back for Bayern. The hosts piled on more pressure and pinned Bayern in their own half for a long period. Eventually, Haaland converted a big chance to put the tie beyond Die Roten.
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Sommer made several saves after Manchester City’s third goal, which stopped the result from becoming an embarrassment for Bayern. The record Bundesliga champions are 99% out of the Champions League unless they conjure up one of the most memorable comebacks in the Champions League history at Allianz Arena next Wednesday.