Pep Guardiola warned that Bayern Munich will believe they can pull off a miracle against Manchester City in their Champions League quarter-final second leg clash on Wednesday.
The Bundesliga giants trail 3-0 after the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last week but City's manager, who was head coach at Bayern from 2013 to 2016, said that will not affect the Germans' mindset.
"I worked here at Bayern and I know the mentality of this club. It's everywhere, it's in the skin of the club. They believe they can do it," said Guardiola on Tuesday.
The German giants went down to goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland in Manchester last week and now have a mountain to climb in the return at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel said on Tuesday that he believes a strong first-half performance could spark a turnaround but that any talk of a 4-0 or 5-0 win against City, a team that is unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, was fanciful.
"We cannot talk about a miracle and expect it to just come by talking about it. We have to have a realistic level," Tuchel said.
"To talk about 4-0 or 5-0 is not appropriate and given our performance on Saturday I don't know if everyone believes it 100 per cent.
"What we want to do is win the first half. That is the first goal. Then anything can happen, if we also get that bit of luck that we did not have in the first game. It is a huge mountain to climb. We want to believe but don't want to be dreamers.
"We need to bring the crowd with us so they can create the kind of energy which you get in games where special things happen."
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 8. Called into action just after the restart by a Leroy Sane shot. Made three other saves against Sane to help protect the Citizens' lead. Getty -
Manuel Akanji - 8. Blocked a ferocious shot from Kimmich in the 36th minute. Dealt well with the threat of Coman in the first half but struggled to track the runs of Sane in the second. Reuters -
Nathan Ake - 8. Had a pop at goal in the 56th minute but was denied by a good save from Sommer. Kept Sane quiet in the first half and Coman in the second. PA -
Ruben Dias - 8. Made a goal-saving block against Musiala in the 25th minute. Almost doubled the home side's lead when he controlled the ball with his chest and took aim at goal deep into the second half. PA -
John Stones - 8. Hardly put a foot wrong all game, and it was his header across the face of goal that found Haaland put City three up in the 77th minute. PA -
Rodri - 9. Opened the scoring with a spectacular curler from more than 25 yards in the 28th minute. Only a mouthwatering save from Sommer denied him a second goal from a header late on. Getty -
Bernardo Silva - 9. Assisted Rodri's goal with a simple pass infield. On another occasion, he showed his skill by slipping the ball through the legs of Davies and Pavard with just two touches on the hour. Doubled City's lead with a beautiful header back across goal with 20 minutes remaining. AFP -
Kevin De Bruyne - 7. A quick one-two with Gundogan almost led to a chance to double City's lead on the stroke of half-time. Wasn’t at his mercurial best. EPA -
Ilkay Gundogan - 7. Denied a shot at goal by a last-ditch Kimmich block in the 20th minute. He then saw a close-range shot surprisingly saved by Sommer soon after. Performed well as the team’s chief creator after De Bruyne was substituted. AFP -
Jack Grealish - 8. Displayed great vision to play Haaland in with a back-heeled pass in the 22nd minute. Played Ake in with another back-heeled layoff just shy of the hour mark. Began the move that led to the second goal by stealing the ball from Upamecano and backheeling the ball into the path of Haaland. AP -
Erling Haaland - 9. Assisted the second goal with a cross to Bernardo Silva before netting himself, reacting quickest to Stones's header across the face of goal to put his side three up in the 70th minute. AFP -
SUBS: Julian Alvarez (De Bruyne, 68') - 7. Should have made it three when he was found in the box by a Gundogan cutback 15 minutes from time. Saw another shot of his flash just wide in the closing stages. Reuters -
BAYERN MUNICH RATINGS: Yann Sommer - 8. Had a heart-in-mouth moment in the 14th minute as Haaland almost deflected his clearance into the net. Made a great double save to deny Grealish and Gundogan in the 34th minute. Ended the game with ten saves. PA -
Benjamin Pavard - 6. Did well to stop a quick one-two between De Bruyne and Gundogan that could have led to a huge chance on the stroke of half-time. His deflected cross had Ederson worried after the break. AP -
Alphonso Davies - 6. Snatched at a shot when he was given space at the edge of Manchester City's penalty area in the early exchanges. Played a superb pass to put Sane through on goal just after the break. Getty -
Dayot Upamecano - 4. At fault for City’s second goal, as his indecisiveness gave Grealish the chance to steal the ball and play Haaland in on goal. Made another mistake in defence that wasn’t punished just a minute later. AP -
Matthijs de Ligt - 6. Was the more assured of the Bavarian's centre-backs but he got caught out a number of times by City's crisp passing. Was caught ball-watching as the home side grabbed a third. EPA -
Leon Goretzka - 5. Stationed just in front of the Bayern Munich backline, Goretzka was overrun by City’s midfielders. He seemed to have too much to do on his own when the home side hit the visitors on the counter. AP -
Joshua Kimmich - 7. Showed great awareness of his surroundings by racing to the far post to deny Gundogan a shot a goal in the 20th minute. Made a last-ditch block to deny Haaland a shot at an open goal after the break. AP -
Jamal Musiala - 6. Denied by a Dias block when he was presented with Bayern's first real chance in the 25th minute. Skipped past Pep Guardiola’s defensive line in the 41st minute but there was no red shirt in the box to apply the finish to his cutback. Getty -
Kingsley Coman - 5. Found very little joy against Akanji at right-back in the first half. Faired a little better after switching wings with Sane in the second half but still didn't trouble Ederson’s goal. PA -
Leroy Sane - 7. Tested Ederson with a well-hit shot from the edge of the box just after the restart. Denied by Ederson again four minutes later when he was played through on goal by Davies. Getty -
Serge Gnabry - 5. Played up front as the team's most advanced player, and struggled in his unfamiliar role. The duo of Stones and Dias kept him very quiet. PA -
SUBS: Sadio Mane (Musiala, 68) - 6. Worked hard after coming on and held the ball up well against City’s defence. He clearly looked more suited to the false nine role in his short time on the pitch than Gnabry. AFP -
Thomas Muller (Gnabry, 80) - N/A. A willing runner but had very little impact after coming on. AP -
Joao Cancelo (Davies, 80) - N/A. Put in a number of dangerous crosses but none of his teammates were on hand to turn them into the net. Reuters
Bayern are struggling for goals, having struck only three times in their last four matches in all competitions. They will need to raise their game by many levels to overturn the deficit.
Tuchel, whose side also slumped to a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to relegation candidates Hoffenheim on Saturday, admitted his players were not in their best form.
"We are not happy and we are working on it," said Tuchel of his team's finishing. "We are missing some confidence, some lightness. You can feel it. We struggle with it. We overthink it.
"We've looked a bit cramped and lacking confidence recently, but in football things can change very quickly."
Bayern can count on the return of striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, who missed Bayern's last three games with a knee injury but took part in training on Tuesday.
"We'll have to see how his knee reacts to our final session, but if we get the green light he is definitely an option," said Tuchel.
Senegal international Sadio Mane will also return to the squad after he was suspended for a dressing room altercation with teammate Leroy Sane in Manchester last week.
Tuchel insisted that Bayern had put the episode behind them, while City midfielder Gundogan warned that it could even help the German side.
"Sometimes an episode like that can have a positive effect. That's what Bayern will be hoping for," said Gundogan.
The German international also insisted that a Bayern comeback was not off the cards on Wednesday.
"We know from our experience in the past that everything is still possible. This competition is something special, you can get incredible results. We are taking it seriously because we are playing against one of the best teams in Europe," he said.
Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard, meanwhile, pointed to the unlikely Champions League comebacks made by Liverpool in 2019 and Barcelona in 2017 as proof that Bayern still had a chance of reaching the last four.
"We've seen the remontadas (comebacks) there have been in the past, so why not us?" said the French international.
"We are ready, the crowd will be important and we are going to do everything to win this match," he added.
