Heavyweights Tuchel and Guardiola test their Champions League skill set
The ironies won't be lost on the bosses at Paris Saint-Germain as Thomas Tuchel leads Bayern Munich into the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash at Manchester City on Tuesday night.
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It was Bayern - albeit under Julian Nagelsmann - who eliminated PSG from this season's tournament with a 3-0 aggregate victory.
And it was Tuchel who led Chelsea to the Champions League crown in May 2021 - five months after PSG dismissed him.
The German stayed in west London until last autumn when he was sacked by the new Chelsea owners. The ensuing chaos at the club with the departure of Tuchel's replacement Graham Potter attests further to their insecurities rather than Tuchel's or even Potter's abilities.
“It was a tight, tight game like they always were against Chelsea in that period," said City boss Pep Guardiola of the Champions League final in Lisbon."
Nearly two years on, Tuchel is feeling his way with his new Bayern squad while Guardiola reeks of longevity.
"You can clearly see that Pep has been around for six or seven years at City," said Tuchel ahead of the game at the Etihad Stadium.
Level
"They are playing the highest level that European football currently has to offer. They are the gold standard. And they’re in top form.”
City go into the clash on the back of a 4-1 romp past relegation-threatened Southampton in the Premier League while Bayern's 1-0 win at Freiburg on Saturday allowed them to maintain a two-point lead over Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga with seven games remaining.
"I would have wished for some more weeks and months to understand the team better," added the 49-year-old German.
"But I don’t have it and no problem. I'm excited and hopefully it brings out the best in all of us."
Should Bayern see off City, they could face Chelsea in the semi-finals. The Londoners play the first leg of their quarter-final at Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Return
Frank Lampard, who skippered Chelsea to their first Champions League crown in 2012 at Bayern's expense, will attempt to coach the 2023 vintage past the defending champions who eliminated Chelsea in the last eight before accounting for Manchester City in the semis and Liverpool in the final.
Few pundits give Chelsea - languishing in mid table in the English Premier League following a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers - much of a chance against the likes of Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga and Karim Benzema.
The game between Bayern and City though appears tougher to call. “We want to try like we try all the time but it doesn’t mean we are going to win," said Guardiola. "That is my dream, to live this again. To be here in a Champions League competition."
The Portuguese league pacesetters Benfica host Inter Milan in Tuesday night's other game. On Wednesday, the all-Italian clash involves the runaway Serie A leaders Napoli against AC Milan.
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