Guardiola and Tuchel's head-to-head record ahead of Chelsea v Man City

09/24/2021

Guardiola dominated Tuchel during their time in Germany, but it is the Chelsea boss who’s got the edge in recent games… so, how does their head-to-head record compare as they prepare to lock horns again?

Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola meet for the ninth time on Saturday
Man City travel to Chelsea in one of the early games in the Premier League
Tuchel’s confidence will be sky high, having won the last three against Guardiola
The City boss dominated him in Germany but will want to end Tuchel’s run

Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola will locks horns once again when their Chelsea and Manchester City sides collide on Saturday.

The two bosses have crossed paths numerous times before during their spells managing in Germany and England and will pit their wits against each other for the ninth time this weekend.

Saturday’s hugely anticipated battle between two of this generation’s finest tacticians provides an intriguing sub-plot to what will be an early season acid test for both Chelsea and City’s title ambitions.

Tuchel can enter the match with the comfort of knowing he’s beaten Guardiola every time he’s faced him with Chelsea, but that will surely only serve as extra motivation for the Manchester City boss to set the record straight, having not come out on top against him over 90 minutes since 2015.

Here, Sportsmail take a closer look at their head-to-head record and at what happened in their previous meetings.

Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola face off for the ninth time in their careers on Saturday

Chelsea lifted the Champions League after beating Manchester City in their last meeting

It was a bit of a mismatch when Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel first faced off in the dugout. Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side trounced Tuchel’s Mainz 4-1, with Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Mario Mandzukic all getting on the scoresheet back in 2013.

In fairness, Tuchel was always facing an uphill battle against Guardiola’s Bayern, who were – and still are – a dominant force in Germany and one of the best teams in Europe.

Guardiola’s Bayern Munich hammered Tuchel’s Mainz in their first match back in 2013

2. Mainz 0-2 Bayern (March, 2014)

It was a familiar story in the reverse fixture that season, with Guardiola’s Bayern running out comfortable winners.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gotze secured the three points that afternoon for Bayern, who would go on to become the Bundesliga champions that year. Tuchel, who ended up leading Mainz to an impressive seventh-place finish, left his role at the end of the campaign after a five-year spell with the club.

3. Bayern Munich 5-1 Borussia Dortmund (October, 2015)

After turning Mainz into perennial overachievers, Tuchel was given an opportunity the following year to take charge of Borussia Dortmund. Before taking the job, Tuchel had spent time discussing tactics with Guardiola at a Munich restaurant, using salt and pepper shakers to illustrate figurative players.

The two shared deep-thinking football brains and a mutual respect that never diminished even when Tuchel’s Dortmund threatened to steal Bayern’s Bundesliga crown in 2015-16. After their first meeting in the Der Klassiker, it appeared as though Guardiola had Tuchel’s number and would stroll to the title, with Bayern claiming a 5-1 victory. But Tuchel would finally end Guardiola’s winning streak against him the next time they met and give him a run for his money in the title race.

Tuchel was humiliated by Guardiola’s Bayern side in his first Der Klassiker as Dortmund boss

4. Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Bayern (March, 2016)

Had this match gone Dortmund’s way, the Bundesliga title may not have ended up in Bavaria that year. Dortmund came into the match very much in the title picture and came closest to scoring in the match through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But the goalless draw ensured their rivals retained a healthy lead, with Bayern eventually finishing 10 points clear of Dortmund. It wouldn’t have consoled Tuchel at the time, but at least he had got his first point against Guardiola.

5. Bayern Munich 0-0 (4-3 on penalties) Borussia Dortmund (May, 2016)

Guardiola and Tuchel’s fifth meeting came in the 2016 DFB-Pokal final. With the stakes high, both sides remained compact in a game that ended up being a tactical battle with little drama.

After a goalless draw in regulation time, it was Bayern who kept their nerve to win 4-3 on penalties. It would be the last time the two manages went head to head in Germany, with Guardiola moving to Manchester City, meaning he had gone unbeaten against Tuchel in all of their meetings. That though would all change when Tuchel eventually followed him to the Premier League.

Guardiola’s winning run against Tuchel continued when Bayern won the 2016 DFB-Pokal final

6. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City (April, 2021)

The tide began to turn when Tuchel’s Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final to end Guardiola’s hopes of a historic quadruple.

Hakim Ziyech scored the only goal of the game to send Chelsea through to the final, but it would end in disappointment for Tuchel with Leicester denying him the chance to pick up some domestic silverware in his first season.

7. Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea (May, 2021)

Tuchel rubbed salt in Guardiola’s wounds by beating him once again in their next meeting the following month. Fortunately for the Spaniard, the title was as good as wrapped up, but is was more evidence that Tuchel had worked out how to get the better of Guardiola.

Goals from Hakim Ziyech and Marcos Alonso that day earned Chelsea an impressive comeback victory and Tuchel back-to-back wins against Guardiola.

Marcos Alonso scored an injury-time winner to give Tuchel successive wins over Guardiola

8. Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea (May, 2021)

Guardiola left the Estádio do Dragão with his tail between his legs after being outfoxed by Tuchel once again. With the biggest prize in club football on the line, Tuchel’s Chelsea showed immense levels of concentration and togetherness to negotiate 90 difficult minutes and come out on top.

Chelsea’s management of the game after going ahead through Kai Havertz proved to be key as Tuchel claimed his first Champions League winners’ medal and ended the season on the high. City had had a brilliant campaign up until that point, but that defeat would’ve hurt and they, and Guardiola, will no doubt be champing at the bit to get some semblance of revenge when they travel to Stamford Bridge this Saturday. Tuchel, on the other hand, will fancy his chances of winning again and becoming the first manager ever to beat Guardiola four games on the trot.

Kai Havertz scored the only goal in last season’s Champions League final against Man City

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