It was far too early for Max Eberl to draw an initial conclusion. “I felt the team for the first time,” said FC Bayern’s new sports director after the new setback in the fight for the championship, which has now moved into the distance: “Now I have to let it sink in.”
Previously, the football record champions had only managed a 2-2 (1-1) draw at SC Freiburg on Eberl’s first day at work and thus missed the goals for his 2000th Bundesliga game: barely shortening the gap to the leaders and hoping in vain for a tailwind for the premier class . “We only got one point, not three,” stated Eberl.
Thanks to the draw, the Munich team only reduced their gap to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen to seven points after the first game of matchday 24. The goals from Mathys Tel (35th) and Jamal Musiala (75th) were not enough for a threesome. Christian Günter (12th) and Lucas Höler (87th) scored a deserved point win for SC.
FC Bayern with a weak opening phase
Bayern’s performance in the first half hour was particularly worrying. “There is no explanation for that in my opinion. We were happy that it was only 0-1,” admitted outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel: “We missed so much in the first half that we couldn’t do more than that point can expect.”
After the missed success, doubts about the weak Bayern team are also growing with a view to the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League on Tuesday against Lazio Rome (first leg 0-1).
Even Tuchel doesn’t know what to expect in the premier class. “The ups and downs have been with us for a very long time,” said the coach: “That’s why a top performance from us on Tuesday cannot be ruled out. And we will need one. We will push positively – then we have to deliver.”