Thomas Tuchel, the manager of Bayern Munich, has remained upbeat despite his team’s shocking defeat to English champions Manchester City on Tuesday.
Guardiola’s men gave the German an unwelcome reception at the Etihad Stadium, scoring three unanswered goals through Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and the usual suspect Erling Haaland.
The loss has left the 2020 cup holders licking their wounds, as Tuchel has an eye on the return leg at the Allianz Arena on 19 April for possible turnaround.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” the 49-year-old said in a post-match conference
“The result doesn’t reflect the game. We showed real character. We played well for the first 20 minutes of the second half but weren’t rewarded.
“We went behind to a long-range goal. The reaction was very good, even more so in the second half. We tried to swing the momentum back in our favour. Obviously, everyone is disappointed.”
Tuchel, however, disclosed he wasn’t oblivious to the ask to try and salvage the result back in Munich, but was dependent on the home advantage to pull through.
“It didn’t feel like a 3-0 loss, but that’s what it is. It’s a big ask to turn it around, but we won’t give up. A home game in Germany is a home game in Germany,” he said.
Sharing his managers’ view was midfielder, Joshua Kimmich, who said an upset shouldn’t be disregarded
“We’re confident we can get something from the second leg,” Kimmich said.
“The first half gave us confidence. We had space, defended well and in the second half set out to get something from the game.”
“We believed we could turn it around,” he said.