Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has admitted he was at fault as the holders suffered an historic 4-0 drubbing in the Champions League semi-final, second leg to Real Madrid.
Having previously never lost at home by more than two goals in Europe, Bayern saw their dreams of reaching a third consecutive Champions League final crushed on Tuesday.
“We lost heavily and we had only a few chances,” admitted Guardiola. “We played badly and that’s my responsibility. If you don’t play well and you defend set pieces badly, that’s just how it is. We are playing at the highest level in Europe, and such mistakes are punished right away.”
Things improved after the break when Guardiola moved Schweinsteiger into the attacking midfield with Javi Martinez taking his place alongside Kroos.
“I told the players during the break that I had made a mistake,” said Guardiola.
“We knew how Real played, so we always wanted to have a lot of possession and players in midfield. We couldn’t control the defensive midfield in the first-half and didn’t put in a good performance, because the coach made a mistake.
“The players ran and tried hard, as they always want to do, but we didn’t have the right players in the right positions at the end of the day.”
{{/usCountry}}“The players ran and tried hard, as they always want to do, but we didn’t have the right players in the right positions at the end of the day.”
{{/usCountry}}Out of sync
Despite Bayern boasting a star-studded squad, Guardiola questioned whether he has the players for to his brand of quick-passing, possession-orientated ‘Tiki-Taka’ football.
Guardiola claimed his side did not have enough possession to be effective against Real, but the stats undermined his argument as his team had 69 percent possession, compared to just 31 to Madrid.