Carlo Ancelotti hails Bayern's best performance under his management after thrashing Arsenal

The Italian manager’s side went into overdrive in the second half, scoring four goals without reply

Carlo Ancelotti has a formidable record in the Champions League, having won it with Milan and Real Madrid (AFP/Getty Images)

Carlo Ancelotti hailed what was “maybe the best” performance of his time at Bayern Munich so far, as his side utterly thrashed Arsenal 5-1 in their Champions League last-16 first leg, while hailing Thiago Alcantara’s two-goal performance as “perfect”.

The Italian manager’s side went into overdrive in the second half, scoring four goals without reply, in a match that really could have ended with an even higher scoreline.

“The performance was good,” Ancelotti said. “We played really. Maybe was the best today, but as I said, it’s not the final. We need to play second game – unfortunately.

“The result is really important, but we don’t want to make a mistake. We have an advantage but we have to prepare the next game in London. We want to play like we did tonight – same intensity, same spirit, same concentration. We want to avoid problems.

“It was good. We started well, had a little problem at the end of the first half, but we played fantastic in the second half, with great intensity.

“It’s only the first half. First half was good. We have to play the second half in London... Thiago played really well. We put him in the position between their liens. That position is really important to us. His performance was really good. He scored goals. It was perfect.”

Asked whether he felt sympathy for Arsene Wenger in such a situation, Ancelotti backed his counterpart:

“This is football. I think Arsene has a lot of experience, the experience to manage this moment, this result and look forward to the next game. It’s only one game.”