Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich - Ancelotti hails Dortmund boss Tuchel

Posted Friday, November 18, 2016 by PA

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti has paid tribute to his Borussia Dortmund counterpart Thomas Tuchel ahead of the two sides' meeting on Saturday evening.

It is the first time Ancelotti will meet Tuchel in a Bundesliga fixture but he has already seen enough to know his side are in for a serious challenge this weekend.

"He's a very good coach and he's given Dortmund a clear identity," Ancelotti said at a press conference on Friday. "He's one of the best in the Bundesliga.

"Dortmund have a very attacking identity with very quick players, so it's normal you have problems defending against them from time to time.

"They are playing very well so it's going to be interesting."

Bayern have a six-point lead over their closest rivals in the race for the title in recent years and the Italian coach knows it will be "very important" to put some more daylight between the two sides.

Ancelotti cannot count on a trio of players for the trip to the Westfalenstadion, though, with Kingsley Coman, Javi Martinez and Arjen Robben all ruled out.

Franck Ribery, on the other hand, is fit.

"He's in good shape and he can play tomorrow," Ancelotti said. "His quality is important for the team."

There was worse news on the injury front for Tuchel, who had been hoping to have Marco Reus available for the first time this season.

However, a heel injury has ruled him out, with Dortmund saying they will not be taking any risks on the German midfielder who has been out of action for six months.

"It's got nothing to do with his previous complaints, it's just a heel complaint which may be due to his new boots," said Tuchel.

"It came out of nowhere. I had no qualms about picking him up to the day before yesterday."

Tuchel will find a way of coping without Reus, as he has done so far this season, even though he says it does not make it any easier for his side to beat Bayern.

That has already been made more complicated by the arrival of Ancelotti in the summer.

"He's got such an incredible aura about him," Tuchel said. "It's not become any easier to beat Bayern since he arrived."

Tuchel was also cautious about Ancelotti's praise.

"You know the biggest risk comes when people in Munich start praising you," he said. "But we know what to read into it.

"We are all looking forward to it and we want to exceed ourselves, even the coaching team. This is our hardest challenge of the season."