Thomas Tuchel joins exclusive club as Bayern boss leads third different team to Champions League semis with Arsenal win
THOMAS TUCHEL produced a tactical masterclass to see Bayern Munich into the Champions League semi-finals.
Joshua Kimmich bagged the only goal on the night to send the Germans through 3-2 on aggregate after a hard-fought win on home soil.
It is the third different club he has taken to the last four – joining an elite group of managers.
Only Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola had accomplished the feat before this evening.
Tuchel, 50, was a runner-up with Paris Saint-Germain in 2020 and won the trophy with Chelsea a year later.
He accomplished his latest feat despite the fact he is set to leave Bayern at the end of the season following his struggles to compete with high-flying Bayer Leverkusen.
Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title contenders were expected to be the better team over two legs but came up against a stubborn opponent.
As was hinted at in a training-ground leak, Tuchel decided to play two left-backs – Noussair Mazraoui and Raphael Guerreiro – from the start and drop Thomas Muller, which allowed him to shut down Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka.
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A delighted Harry Kane told TNT Sports: “It was an unbelievable win. It’s been a tight season for us, we’ve had to fight and grind.
“Today was that. We knew we could make the difference with our fans. It was what we expected, a tough game, a tight game.
“It was a great goal from Josh to make the difference, then it was about defending.
“We can enjoy this one. The first half was cagey but we upped the tempo.
“These games are tough and we have to find our way through them. The expectation is to try to win the Champions League, maybe there was some tempo missing in the Bundesliga.
“That can’t happen next season, it’s going to be a tough game in the semi-final, whoever we play.”
Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Tuchel’s former club PSG are the other teams in the last four.
Can you name the famous fathers?
- Our dad’s a Man Utd legend – now we run our own gym
- My dad is an Arsenal Invincible – and I played under him
- Our dad is Man Utd Treble winner – now we’re following in his footsteps
- My dad is a legendary manager – and I even dated one of his players
- Our dad won it all for Chelsea – now we’re starring for our country