Pep Guardiola thinks Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane will be GOOD for Bayern ahead of the Champions League return leg

April 17, 2023

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has played down the belief that Sadio Mane’s fight with his Bayern teammate Leroy Sane will affect the Bavarian club negatively. 

Both players came to blows last week Tuesday after Bayern Munich’s Champions League 3-0 loss to Man City at the Etihad. The Senegal international allegedly punched his teammate, drawing blood from his lips.

The club suspended Mane for one game and handed him an undisclosed fine. But he is expected to be back in the squad when Bayern take on Man City for the second leg of the quarter-finals. 

Speaking about the incident ahead of the meeting at Allianz Arena this week, Pep Guardiola dismissed suggestions that the brawl involving Mane and Sane was a sign of disarray at Bayern. Instead, the Man City boss believes the conflict was needed to make the team closer and potentially more dangerous ahead of the second leg.

“Absolutely, sometimes you need conflict to make the team more together. I am pretty sure of that. It’s not a weak point. It will be a strong point against us,” Guardiola told reporters after City’s 3-1 win over Leicester.

“I know this club perfectly. I can imagine the situation against City. We play there; the players will do their best. Bayern will do their best on Wednesday, but I am pretty sure what happened here. If it was the opposite and we had lost 3-0 and didn’t win today, and there was some conflict, the team would say it is a final for us, and we know exactly what we have to do, and we will do it.” 

City were dominant in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, but Guardiola has insisted he is not complacent ahead of the trip to Munich. 

“We have a final in four days, and the team is going to play at the limits. I know the character of the stadium and the players they have and the German mentality,” he added.

“We have to work a lot, be stable in our bad moments, and go there so aggressive to win the game. We have to score a goal and win the game. This is what I would like to put in the minds of my players. We are going to watch 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.”

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