Man City boss Pep Guardiola fears Sadio Mane incident will help Bayern Munich
Pep Guardiola fears the showdown between Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane will HELP Bayern Munich as they try to overcome a three-goal deficit against Manchester City… with the embarrassed striker in contention for the second leg
- Manchester City take a 3-0 lead over Bavaria for Wednesday’s second leg
- But Pep Guardiola is convinced that Bayern will not just give up with a draw
- He believes the Mane-Sane incident will boost the squad to perform better
Pep Guardiola fears the showdown between Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane will boost Bayern Munich as they try to come back against Manchester City in their Champions League quarter-final.
City are dominant in the game after winning the first leg 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium last week, thanks to goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.
In the dressing room after that defeat, Mané punched Sane and left him with a bloodied lip as a disagreement that started on the pitch escalated to violence.
The former Liverpool striker was suspended for just one match – Saturday’s 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Hoffenheim – and will be available for the second leg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Former Bayern manager Guardiola believes the incident can actually help Bayern in their attempt to overcome the three-goal deficit.
Pep Guardiola fears Bayern Munich will be goaded by Sadio Mane-Leroy Sane incident
An on-pitch altercation between Mane (left) and Sane (right) escalated in the dressing room as the former Liverpool striker left his team-mate with a bruised lip
Mane was suspended for Bayern’s game at the weekend but will be available for the second leg
“Definitely, sometimes you need conflicts to make the team closer, I’m pretty sure of that,” he said.
“It’s not a weak point, it will be a strong point against us.
“I know this club perfectly, I can imagine the situation against City; we play there, the players will give their best.
“Bayern will do their best on Wednesday, but I’m pretty sure what happened there.
“If it was the opposite and we lost 3-0 and didn’t win today and there was a conflict, the team would say it’s a final for us and we know exactly what to do and we will do it. ‘
City beat Leicester 3-1 on Saturday night to keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal, who dropped two points at West Ham on Sunday.
Leroy Sane emerged with a bruised lip ahead of Bayern Munich’s game with Hoffenheim
Bernardo Silva was one of City’s goalscorers as they won the first leg 3–0 at home
That leaves the gap between the teams at just four points, with City still a game in hand and the two clubs meeting at the Etihad on April 26.
About the game against Bayern, Guardiola added: “We have a final in four days and the team is going to play at the limit. I know the character of the stadium and the players they have and the German mentality.
“We have to work a lot, be stable in our bad moments and go there so aggressively to win the game.
“We have to score a goal and win the game. This is what I would like to put in my players’ heads.
‘We’ll take a look [a re-run of the first leg] tomorrow or tonight and see how many things we can do better and prevent the good things they can do and try to win the game.”