'That was a lot of fun' - Thomas Tuchel 'fell in love' with Bayern squad during Champions League thrashing at Man City

• City hammered Bayern 3-0
• In driver's seat ahead of the second leg
• Tuchel doesn't agree with the scoreline

WHAT HAPPENED? The reigning Premier League champions put on a show at the Etihad Stadium as they thumped Bayern 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. Rodri opened the scoring with a screamer and some defensive errors in the final 20 minutes allowed Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland to get on the scoresheet as well, leaving Bayern in need of a miracle in the second leg at Allianz Arena.

Although Tuchel admitted that his troops lacked "confidence and form" he refrained from being harsh on them and instead praised their efforts.

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WHAT THEY SAID: “Of course, the result is bitter for us. I fell in love with my team a little today, the way they performed. Even if sounds strange, that was a lot of fun. I think our players were lacking a bit in confidence and form," he told Prime Video.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Manchester City keeper Ederson and defender Ruben Dias were in sublime form as the duo denied Bayern forwards on numerous occasions. Leroy Sane was prevented from scoring on multiple occasions while Matthijs de Ligt and Kingsley Coman were also left frustrated with their attempts, which prompted Tuchel to claim that the result was not a fair reflection of what had transpired in the match.

“I don’t agree with the result at all," he added. "We were punished in phases in which we were the better team. We were simply brutally punished today. I thought our performance was very good until 2-0. I don’t want to talk down the result - I saw a very good performance until the 70th minute."

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT? Bayern will take on Hoffenheim in Bundesliga on Saturday before hosting Manchester City at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday in their quest to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit.