We welcomed the 2021/22 Bundesliga champions to the Etihad Stadium for the first leg of our quarter-final match against Thomas Tuchel’s side, with goals from Rodrigo, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland securing the win.
Houghton, captain of our women’s team and a guest on our Matchday Live, was more impressed with City’s defensive line and their role in obtaining a clean sheet.
“It’s a good confidence boost for going over to there,” Houghton began. “Even if we are not at our best at attacking you know that you’ve got players that are going to put their bodies there.”
And it wasn’t just the defenders who Houghton commended. Ederson was called upon a number of times at the start of the second half to deny Bayern the opportunity to get back into the game.
“You’ve got a world class goalkeeper in Ederson that can not just save but pushing [the ball] out so wide the team can get up and get reset and reorganised, he was impressive tonight.”
Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias all had stand-out performances, with John Stones also dropping into the middle of the defensive line from midfield when needed. But it was the Portuguese who caught Houghton’s eye.
“He [Dias] reads the play so well. He’s not afraid to go against the best strikers and the best attacking players.
“In them moments you just want someone to come head the ball or clear the ball and it relieves the pressure a little bit and he was fantastic tonight,” continued Houghton.
“It’s hard to pick one out but defensively he put in the most important blocks.”
We travel to Allianz Arena on Wednesday 19 April, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 (UK) for the away leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
But first, our focus returns to Premier League football as we host Leicester City and their new interim manager Dean Smith on Saturday 15 April, with kick-off at 17:30 (UK)
