When Manchester City were preparing to host Bayern in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad, there was a lot of talk about who would play at right-back for Pep Guardiola’s team. But the solution was always there: the intelligent, versatile and reliable Manuel Akanji.UCL: Haaland’s sweet revenge, Tuchel and Bayern on the ropesQuite a few people were surprised at the start of the season when City signed the Swiss international defender from Borussia Dortmund. He was seen as a backup player at best, and few could have predicted he would be one of the most consistent defenders for the English club on the road to the UCL semis. But here we are!Manuel Akanji’s game by numbers vs. Bayern:78% pass accuracy72 touches8 tackles won8 ground duels won4 long balls completed3 interceptions2/3 aerial duels won1 clearanceStrong at the back. 💪 pic.twitter.com/IUn8LiP7NZ— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 11, 2023 The 27-year-old son of a Nigerian father and a Swiss mother never had a constant position in his five years for the Yellow-Blacks. Ultimately, the club directors decided not to extend his contract beyond June 2023, and he was allowed to move to Manchester City in a bargain $19 million transfer – a lot under his estimated market value, which currently stands at $33 million. Dortmund decided to bank on the trio of Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Sule and Mats Hummels as Akanji made his way to the blue half of Manchester.🗣️ “I don’t think this will give us a huge boost. I know what he (Pep Guardiola) means that this kind of energy in the dressing room shows the determination.”Thomas Tuchel says the Sadio Mané punch on Leroy Sané will unlikely give Bayern Munich a boost against Manchester City. pic.twitter.com/fJnrvuNtWC— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 18, 2023 Guardiola saw Akanji’s history of playing in various positions as an advantage rather than an indication of the player not being good enough to hold down a place on the team. Whether he appeared as a central defender or at right-back, the former FC Basel man has excelled and developed into an integral part of the Cityzens starting eleven. In the first leg of the Bayern duel, he was asked to stop Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman on the wing – and he came out swinging. His intelligence is what impressed Guardiola the most.”Manuel is a gift for every coach. His defensive and offensive movements are perfect. To some players, you must explain everything ten times or practice with them ten times before they understand what you want from them. This guy goes into a training session and gets it straight away. It just goes to show that nothing beats intelligence.”City arrived in Munich with a three-goal cushion from the first leg, but they mustn’t relax too much against a dangerous Bayern team and their passionate crowd. New coach Thomas Tuchel is keen to show the public he was the right choice to take over from Julian Nagelsmann – and he indeed has ideas of how to make former Bayern coach Guardiola suffer. It will be another night for Akanji to demonstrate his newly-found calmness.”I think I’ve learned a lot in my first few months in the Premier League. A small example: In which situations is it worth taking a risky pass – and when not? I feel very well.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7190026##Akanji has settled well, even if Champions League semi-finalists Milan are said to have expressed an interest in signing him. But why should he leave? He’s playing for a good team – and is playing regularly. City might only decide to sell him if financial fair play rules require them to get rid of some players.In the meantime, quite a few BVB fans must be wondering why their club decided to let Akanji leave and keep veteran Hummels, who no longer looks like the player he once was. They used to criticise the Swiss for his tendency to make errors at the back, not realising that he only needed a few months of training to reach another level.🗣️ “I know they believe they can do it, we believe too.” Pep Guardiola dismisses the idea that Bayern Munich need a “miracle” to overcome Man City’s 3-0 lead pic.twitter.com/szgAafFFHF— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 19, 2023 Guardiola will surely have an emotional night as he returns to the stadium where he celebrated three Bundesliga titles but also suffered for not winning the Champions League. Lifting the trophy with Manchester City will cure his wounds – and tonight, he expects to reach the last four.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEQuarter-final, second legTuesdayChelsea – Real Madrid 0-2 (0-0) /first leg 0-2//Rodrygo 58, 80/Napoli – Milan 1-1 (0-1) /first leg 0-1//Osimhen 90+3 – Giroud 43/Wednesday22.00: (2.25) Inter (3.50) Benfica (3.40) /first leg 2-0/22.00: (2.85) Bayern (3.60) Man.City (2.55) /first leg 0-3/***odds are subject to change***
