Bayern’s game is currently shockingly weak, and the reactions before and after the games are misleading. Why? Thomas Tuchel now has to find out.
Final whistle in Rome. Thomas Tuchel shook hands with Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri and disappeared towards the catacombs. After apparently having to collect himself, he returned to the pitch and faced the interviews.
In the end, however, it wasn’t just the result that counted. The 90 minutes played before that, which the Munich team had shown on Wednesday evening, were much more frightening: not a single shot on goal, serious mistakes in defense and wrong decisions all over the pitch.
After his five-man chain experiment in Leverkusen failed, he relied again on the usual four-man chain and brought his leading players Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich back into the starting eleven. In the end, however, they couldn’t prevent bankruptcy either.
Tuchel’s reaction to a bad pass from Kimmich in the second half couldn’t have described the 90 minutes in Rome better: he slumped in his chair and buried his face in his hands. A half of the game to forget. “The second half leaves me at a loss. We lost track and then did everything we could to fall behind,” said Tuchel after the final whistle. To many ears, this is a poor explanation.
Why was the lightness missing?
Müller also couldn’t explain the defeat. The mentality that he himself spoke of after the Bundesliga summit against Leverkusen continued in Rome: “We are going in circles. We are not satisfied, that is completely clear,” said the 34-year-old after the game .
With all the uncertainty that was felt at Bayern, the question arises: Why? Why do players lack ease? Tuchel assured that he had encouraged the players at half-time. “We strengthened the team, (…) but then completely lost trust and lost rhythm.” Bayern literally collapsed in the second half against Lazio. There was a lack of conviction, of creativity, of bite.
Tuchel tried everything against Lazio. He sent his usual offensive forces around Harry Kane and Leroy Sané onto the pitch and hoped that Müller would provide the necessary creativity. Kimmich should have provided the decisive pass with his chip balls – and Manuel Neuer’s back four with Raphaël Guerreiro, Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Noussair Mazraoui should keep the Romans away from the goal. However, the reaction Tuchel had hoped for did not materialize.
Much of the game gave the impression that the team and coach were completely talking past each other – once again this season.
With the start of the new year, the team showed increased uncertainty. The record champions suffered a 0-1 defeat against Bremen and only narrowly won against Union (1-0). In Augsburg, too, the German record champions almost gave up the game: in the end it was 3-2 from Bayern’s point of view. And against Gladbach, captain Neuer’s team was behind for the time being, but with a strong effort they were able to win 3-1.