FC Bayern showed a poor performance in their defeat against Leverkusen – not only on but also off the pitch. In focus: Thomas Tuchel.
Leverkusen’s clear 3-0 victory over FC Bayern also preoccupied the sports world a day later. The hit was also a topic in the football talk “Doppelpass” on Sport1. Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel’s surprising formation played a big role: he played with a three-man chain.
t-online columnist and “Dopa” expert Stefan Effenberg said: “That hasn’t been played like that before this season, it was incomprehensible to me. Bayern is a club that has been playing in a back four for years. They give the game “If you roll the dice now, you’ll see the uneasy feeling of the players.”
Other guests on the show such as Holger Schmidt from the German Press Agency also agreed with Effenberg. FC Bayern is the team that dictates a game, everyone else follows it. Communications consultant and mental trainer Kai Traemann took a similar line: With his three-man chain, Tuchel adapted to Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso’s team and thus made himself “vulnerable”.
Does everyone in the squad have equal rights?
This is how Tuchel comes to the fore. The coach gave frustrated interviews after the defeat, but Effenberg wishes for something completely different: “It wouldn’t be wrong to admit a mistake every now and then. Yesterday’s game was so crucial for the head. Then you see Bayern, who miss everything.” Traemann follows up against Tuchel: “That’s what he’s missing: mental sovereignty. A, that doesn’t do justice to FC Bayern and B, FC Bayern won’t like that.”
According to Effenberg, one person in particular was needed on the pitch: Thomas Müller. The veteran is “a central figure in Munich – and you clearly have to play him. Or Joshua Kimmich. He is in low performance, but a central figure.” But Tuchel decided against the two “and these are the main reasons why they deserved to lose.”
Shortly before the first goal was conceded in the 18th minute by Bayern loanee Josip Stanišić, the TV pictures showed Leroy Sané and Dayot Upamecano discussing. The group in the “double pass” is of the opinion that a leader is missing. According to Traemann, it even seems as if everyone in the squad has equal rights.
For Effenberg it is clear: “If Kimmich had played, he would have solved the situation.” He then explained how he himself would have reacted at that moment: “I would have had such a big neck, I would have grabbed the boys.” And it was exactly those types that the club was missing. “You don’t have the boys, you don’t have Uli Hoeneß anymore either. The players you stick with don’t exist,” continued Effenberg.
“The final bill will be available in May”
Will Bayern still have the championship trophy in their hands at the end of the season without clear leaders? The German record champions are currently “only” in second place in the Bundesliga. Bayer Leverkusen leads the table with a five-point lead. Effenberg’s t-online thesis on this is: “The championship has not yet been decided. But it must now be Leverkusen’s very clear and stated goal.”
Bayer’s managing director Simon Rolfes was also a guest on the show and said: “The clear message is that we want to win the next game. It’s part of the secret of success. We want to do it in small blocks – and that’s how we carry on (. ..). The final bill will be available in May, not before.”
Effenberg also thinks that the initial situation is at least correct. “If they keep playing like this, they will definitely win the championship. They completely deserved to win against Bayern Munich. If they really manage to maintain the level, then Leverkusen deserves it too,” the expert continued.