Bayern Munich have their work cut out as they look to overturn a big deficit in their Champions League quarter-final return leg against Manchester City on Wednesday, but coach Thomas Tuchel believes a strong first-half performance can spark a turnaround.
The Bavarians have struggled in the past weeks since Tuchel's arrival in late March, having been eliminated in the German Cup last eight by Freiburg before a 3-0 defeat at City in the Champions League first leg last week.
They then slumped to a 1-1 home draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, even as the Bavarians also banned forward Sadio Mane for a game after he hit teammate Leroy Sane after the game in Manchester.
Tuchel said 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 on Tuesday.
"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."
Bayern are struggling for goals, having struck only three times in their last four matches in all competitions. Facing a 3-0 deficit, they need to raise their game by many levels.
"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."
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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
Tuchel 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 the Bayern coach.
Senegal international Mane will also return to the squad after his suspension.
Tuchel insisted that Bayern had put the episode behind them and rejected City manager Pep Guardiola's suggestion that the internal conflict could give Bayern a boost in the second leg.
"I see Pep's point. We wanted to turn it into positive energy for the next game, but we didn't really do that against Hoffenheim. I don't think it will make a difference on Wednesday," he said.
For City, Erling Haaland will once again be the main man. Haaland has scored 47 goals in 40 games in all competitions, and has a possible 13 more games to play this season.
Given his current form, and the continuous supply of goals from other members of the squad, City will be the overwhelming favourites to go through, and in style.
Meanwhile, City have submitted a planning application to expand the capacity of their Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000, while adding a hotel, museum and other facilities in a £300 million investment.
The new development will add around 7,000 new seats to the stadium. The plans also include a new covered fan zone, integrated into the stadium behind the north stand, and a new club shop along with the museum and hotel, which would also attract business from the new 23,500-capacity Co-op Live Arena, which is under construction next to the stadium.
