Bayern have been handed another blockbuster Champions League tie as they were drawn against Manchester City and former coach Pep Guardiola in the quarter-finals for 2022/23. “If you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat the best. That’s the challenge, and we’ll gladly face it,” said club CEO Oliver Kahn after Friday’s draw in Nyon. “It’s a very attractive pairing. I firmly believe our team will be very well prepared,” added board member for sport Hasan Salihamidzic.
fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction to the draw.
Reaction to Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final draw with Manchester City
Oliver Kahn (CEO): “Our fans and football fans around the world can look forward to this fixture. Manchester City are a top team, but we’re Bayern Munich. We must and will be ready for this great opponent. It’ll be a reunion with Pep Guardiola, with Erling Haaland, with familiar faces from the Bundesliga. If you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat the best. That’s the challenge, and we’ll gladly face it.”
Hasan Salihamidzic (board member for sport): “It’s a very attractive pairing. We’re looking forward to these games. It’ll once again be the best players in the world on the pitch. I firmly believe our team will be very well prepared. We have to try and get the best possible result from the first leg in Manchester. Then our Allianz Arena will be rocking again and our fans will urge us forward.”
Julian Nagelsmann (head coach): “We want to go further this year than last year. That’s why we want to win against City. It’s a good and demanding draw. If we ultimately win the title, nobody can say we had easy draws. It started with a tough group stage, with Barcelona and Inter challenging us, then with Paris Saint-Germain and now Manchester City. It goes without saying it’ll be extremely tough against Pep and City. I’m drawing a lot of energy and excitement from this demanding task. We’ll prepare well, and everyone is looking forward to it.”
Thomas Müller: “Manchester City are probably the biggest draw we could’ve got. They’re an extremely solid team, who’ve always brought in good new players down the years but are well attuned. They’ll be exciting games. What I think is great is that we have the second leg in Munich. We’ll approach the tie with confidence.“
Joshua Kimmich: “It’s definitely one of the toughest draws. But we’re still confident and I’m personally looking forward to playing against Pep Guardiola after such a long time. Every football fan will be looking forward to the two games because it’s two top teams facing off. City have very good individual players, paired with a good coach who has a good plan. They’ve been playing consistently at the highest level for years now. We’re also a team with lots of good individuals, but we’ve also shown that we work very well as a team and also have a top coach. It’ll be evenly matched.”
Leon Goretzka: “You definitely can’t talk about a lucky draw, but there’s also something nice about it. It’s a journey of real champions, which we want to be. So, I’m looking forward to it. City have excellent individual players and a very good coach. They’ve been playing together for a while now and know exactly what they’re doing, are very assured on the ball and have good positional play. We’ll take on the challenge and are looking forward to it.”
We took a closer look at City here:
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