Thomas Müller surprisingly stayed on the bench for 90 minutes in FC Bayern’s 1-0 win in Cologne. Record national player Lothar Matthäus therefore fears problems in Munich.
“Thomas doesn’t get his playing time. I think that’s what bothers him the most, even though he doesn’t show it on the outside,” warned the 62-year-old on Sunday on the talk show “Sky90”.
On Friday evening, despite all the complaints about the busy schedule, coach Thomas Tuchel decided not to make any changes. Müller therefore had to be content with the role of spectator, as did Serge Gnabry, Alphonso Davies, Mathys Tel and other stars.
Matthäus said: “There were no changes at FC Bayern. I can’t remember the last time that was the case.” A look at the statistics reveals that this last happened to the German industry leader 13 years ago.
“I didn’t feel it today. We were so good in the game, we controlled it completely. I didn’t want to interrupt the dominance,” Tuchel later justified himself on “DAZN”.
FC Bayern: “Is there a fire” in Thomas Müller?
Müller has made 14 competitive appearances so far in 2023/2024, in which he has scored two goals and provided five assists. However, the veteran often only came onto the field as a joker; he only played a total of 485 minutes.
“It burns inside him,” revealed Matthäus. It is unclear whether Müller is even thinking about saying goodbye to his parent club due to a lack of a regular place. His current working paper at FC Bayern expires at the end of the season and an extension is under discussion.
It is now clear that the 34-year-old does not want to hang up his football boots after the home European Championship. “Of course I would like to have him in the team,” Tuchel made clear just last week.
In order to stay, however, the trainer will certainly have to show his protégé a better sporting perspective.