At the start of the 2023/24 Champions League group phase, FC Bayern had Manchester United firmly under control for a long time in their own stadium on Wednesday evening, but in the end they still had to be content with a shaky 4-3 victory. A circumstance that also puts question marks on coach Thomas Tuchel’s face.
“We’re having a hard time with it. It’s a bit of a paradox,” Tuchel puzzled at the “DAZN” microphones after his FC Bayern’s (unnecessarily) narrow victory.
“I thought we were much better in the second half than in the first and we lost the second half in the end. It’s important for confidence and further development, but there are still things we need to do better. We’re in “We are a threat to score in every game and create chances for ourselves in every game,” said Tuchel.
After a weak opening phase, the Munich team ultimately deservedly went into the break with a 2-0 lead, conceded straight away after the restart and pulled away again a few minutes later. In the final minutes, superstar Casemiro was able to bring the guests within striking distance twice. However, FC Bayern once again showed a strong reaction, especially to the interim 2:3.
FC Bayern must “make fewer mistakes”
“It’s a difference to the games last season. Even if we’re not 100 percent satisfied, the not so good phases stop again and it doesn’t collapse or we lose the game. The reactions were very good today “It was very important to add a goal every time,” Tuchel also praised this quality.
Incidentally, the coach had to watch the game from the stands due to an indoor closure and was unable to intervene. After all, the 50-year-old probably had the best view of the game.
Leroy Sané, who scored the 1-0 and was one of Bayern’s best overall, also emphasized that not everything that glitters is gold. “We are happy that we won the first game in the Champions League and got the first three points. The game was a bit wild. For the fans it was nice with a lot of goals. Offensively it was good, but we need less Make mistakes. That was a bit too many. We have to calm down and control the game and then counterattack better.”
Either way, you can look forward to a successful start to the group phase in Munich. But it is also clear that opponents with completely different quality will be waiting in the knockout phase.