Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has surprisingly described his team's 3-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday as "a lot of fun".
The two sides, widely regarded as two favourites to win the competition, met in a thrilling first-leg quarter-final clash at the Etihad, marking Tuchel's fourth game in charge of the Bavarians since abruptly replacing former boss Julian Nagelsmann at the helm last month.
Goals by Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland were enough to give City a huge advantage heading into next week's second leg at the Allianz Arena.
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While the German tactician is believed to have been brought in to potentially win a treble for the Munich outfit, this vision appears to have fallen apart given they were dumped out of the DFB Pokal by SC Freiburg earlier this month, while last night's loss suggests they will need a huge result in the return leg to advance to the semis.
However, despite his side's 3-0 thrashing, Tuchel has insisted he was pleased with the way his side performed.
"I don't agree with the result at all," the former Chelsea boss told Amazon Prime after the match.
"We were punished in periods where we were the better team. We were just brutally punished today.
"I thought our performance was very good until the 2-0 goal. I don't want to talk down the result, I thought it was a very good performance until the 70th minute.
"I think we deserved at least one goal and gave away one or two too many. I think our players lacked a bit of confidence and form. Obviously the result is bitter for us.
"I fell a little bit in love with my team today, the way they performed.
"Even if it sounds strange, it was a lot of fun."
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Meanwhile, Citizens boss Pep Guardiola admitted that Bayern played well against his side despite the harsh scoreline.
"It was not comfortable. Emotionally, I am destroyed," the Spaniard said after the match.
"I have [aged] 10 more years today. It was so demanding and now I have to relax, day off and then Leicester [City in the Premier League] and travel again.
"I know what we have to do. If you don't perform they are able to score one, two, three. I know that and the players know it. It was an incredible result but we do our game with huge personality.
"Here we have our chances, especially this season and we are clinical. It's the same in Munich. I have been there for three years and I remember what it means and the people. We are going there to score goals and to try and win the game."
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