Last night, the aim was to ensure that Bayern didn`t get caught on the hop by Juventus, that come the second leg, back in the Allianz Arena, Pep Guardiola`s side would, hopefully, have more than a chance of making the quarter-finals.
As it turned out, for long periods of the game, it looked as if Bayern would do sufficient to finish off the tie in the first leg, in Turin.
But as can so often be the case, matters changed with Juventus snatching two goals to leave the second half well-poised, although the two away goals Bayern have given them the edge.
After the game, when interviewed by the media, Pep seemed to be a little agitated, delivering an outburst that perhaps showed the pressure he is under during his final months of his tenure at Bayern, with Pep remarking,
"The result is what it is.
"I know that in Italy you are so interested about physical condition.
"I don` give a f*** for the physical condition.
"It`s the mental question that I care about.
"I didn`t expect to come here and think Juventus won`t shoot on target or that we will play 90 fantastic minutes. We showed character."
And when pushed on whether Bayern would get through to the quarter-finals, Pep further commented,
"We came here and had the ball, created chances, scored goals.
"Will it be enough to go through? I don`t know.
"But I am very happy with how we did. It`s probably the evening that I am most pleased as a coach in my career."
It was almost the complete performance, if only the full time whistle had blown after sixty minutes we`d be toasting a marvellous result, but 2-2 isn`t that bad is it?
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