Man City vs Bayern Munich: Guardiola returns to Germany to face former side

In what looks to be the biggest tie of the round, the Premier League and Bundesliga champions go head-to-head in the Champions League.

The quarter-final draw for the 2022/23 Champions League has been confirmed with four fascinating ties lined up for next month. Here is the draw in full:

- Real Madrid vs Chelsea

- Benfica vs Inter

- Man City vs Bayern

- AC Milan vs Napoli

Each of the quarter-final match-ups has a thrilling narrative but for many neutrals it is the clash of England and Germany’s reigning champions that will really set mouths watering. Manchester City, led by former Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola, are desperate to lift the Champions League for the first time in their history but will have to beat one of Europe’s most fearsome sides if they are to make it to the final four.

Which are the best teams in the Champions League?

Judging the strongest teams is always a difficult task, and one that is usually proved pointless when Real Madrid lift the trophy yet again. However analysts at Opta have drawn together information from all of the world’s top leagues to build a Global Power Ranking, listing the strongest teams in the world.

As of 17 March 2023, Bayern Munich and Manchester City were ranked as numbers one and two, respectively.

It is undoubtedly the heavyweight tie of the round and both sides know that victory will give leave them in pole position to lift European club football’s most prestigious of prizes.

What has Pep Guardiola said about Bayern Munich?

The Spaniard’s stellar managerial career has so far taken him to to three of Europe’s biggest club sides. After incredible success at Barcelona, Guardiola moved to Germany to take charge of perennial champions Bayern Munich, with whom he won three league titles in three years.

However his predecessor, Jupp Heynckes, had won the treble of Bundesliga title, German cup and Champions League in his final season at the club, creating an almost impossibly high bar for Guardiola to reach.

Speaking to Viaplay TV after leaving Bayern, Guardiola admitted that their recent successes made his time at the club particularly difficult.

“The start was anything but easy as they’d just won the treble with Mr. Heynckes,” Guardiola said.

“So then when you want to change something, it’s a little more difficult, because the players will then say ‘Why should we change something? Why don’t we keep doing as we’ve done in the past?’ And that’s normal and how it should be, but I also don’t know how they did it in the past; I wasn’t there.”

“Every coach is a bit different,” he added. “After they won the treble, I thought it would be best if I adapted to them a little bit, and they adapted to me a little bit as well.”