Bayern Munich’s Thomas Tuchel knows Galatasaray is more than just Mauro Icardi

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel can look up-and-down the Galatasaray roster and see the talent.

One name, however, sticks out — Mauro Icardi.

Do not expect Tuchel to overlook the rest of the squad, just because of Icardi’s presence on the team.

“Galatasaray are more than Icardi. The team is very aggressive, very mobile, attacks a lot when in and out of possession. They’re a very good and emotive team that’s on a long unbeaten run. The results speak for themselves. Winning away at Manchester United is extremely difficult. They’re a good opponent, a club steeped in tradition. They’re aggressive, look to attack at the highest level - they’ve proven that in the first two games. We want to remain ahead of Galatasaray after the game too,” said Tuchel (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “My latest information is that (Icardi) will miss tomorrow’s game and will be out for a long time. Mauro Icardi is a natural striker. Galatasaray’s game is designed for him. That’s what he loves. Playing close to the last line and being fed there, that’s his big strength. There aren’t many who are better at that. My information is that he won’t play, but we’ll wait for tomorrow and if he’s in the lineup, we’ll prepare the back four accordingly.”

Even if Icardi does not play, Tuchel knows that his squad is walking into a hostile environment.

“We back ourselves to deal with it. It’s extremely emotional, extremely loud. You can’t simulate that in advance. Galatasaray want to use that to their advantage. The game is a big challenge for us,” Tuchel remarked. “We feel ready to win a very difficult game. The Champions League only works step by step. We feel strong enough to win the group. We want to get to the knockout phase. You need luck there too. At the moment it makes no sense to compare ourselves to other teams. We have a very strong opponent tomorrow who is unbeaten for 17 games in a row, we want to break their streak.”

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