The duel against Hoffenheim showed Bayern Munich’s coach that many things in the Munich team are in trouble. Thomas Tuchel therefore spoke plainly with a view to the draw against the Kraichgauer. A bad premonition creeps up on him.
Ein Encouragement for a football miracle looks different. Even Thomas Tuchel didn’t hide that when he classified FC Bayern’s frightening 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim with a view to the Champions League second leg against Manchester City. “The task has definitely become even more difficult,” said the 49-year-old coach, who had hoped for a tailwind.
Tuchel also wanted to spark a belief in miracles against Hoffenheim in the Munich crowd. “It was the moment to step it up, win the game with a vengeance, but also spark an energy in the stadium, sparking fire and confidence. We missed a huge opportunity to get ourselves and our fans in the mood it will take to believe in it,” he said.
Tuchel’s reaction was a wake-up call to his team. “We don’t have the sense that it’s burning. It is high time that we as a team showed a different spirit. That’s the way it goes,” he summed up relentlessly. The Munich team are on the verge of losing one title after the other in a short space of time. On Wednesday (9 p.m., in the sports ticker of the WELT) they have to catch up with a 3-0 loss against Manchester City in the Allianz Arena in order to reach the semi-finals of the premier class.
Haaland announces “big week of results”.
While the top English team ticked off the next mandatory win and a successful dress rehearsal with a 3-1 win against Leicester City in the Premier League, Erling Haaland scored twice again and the superstar was already proclaiming the “big week of results”, Tuchel complained about umpteen grievances. His team played against Hoffenheim “with a lot less energy”, with “a lot less speed, with less conviction”, he said, also “with a lot of uncertainty and simple mistakes. That was a big step backwards.”
Comeback of “FC Hollywood” – The Bayern scandals of this season
Cup out, coach earthquake, Mané suspension – at “FC Hollywood” the club bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic as well as coach Thomas Tuchel are required as crisis managers. Explosive events have been happening at FC Bayern for weeks.
Only because Borussia Dortmund conceded the equalizer to make it 3-3 at VfB Stuttgart in injury time did Munich keep their two-point lead over BVB in the table. Tuchel spoke of the “worst game” under his leadership. And in the five games there have already been two defeats, one of them in the painful cup defeat against SC Freiburg.
The Munich players, including captain Thomas Müller, were also puzzled about the “sleepy” performance, which put the team “into a kind of hibernation” in the middle of spring, as the attacker said in the ARD interview. Bayern’s defensive star Matthijs de Ligt, meanwhile, said what still makes him positive after Munich’s negative performance against Hoffenheim for the necessary race to catch up on Wednesday: “It can’t be worse than today.”
The bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic, who were increasingly in need of explanation, left the arena on Saturday evening without speaking. CEO Kahn delivered it the morning after via Twitter: “Just one point again and the next setback for us! Results and performances like these cannot be what we aspire to.” First place will be “defended with all our might”, added Kahn imploringly.
However, Tuchel’s long list of defects must be remedied as soon as possible. “It was too slow, too emotionless, it wasn’t dogged enough,” he reprimanded the lackluster performance in game number five he directed. The ailing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who couldn’t train with the reservists on Sunday either, is missing in front. And there’s always something going wrong in the back. “It’s all about how, not what we played,” complained Tuchel. The most important phase of the season is underway – and Bayern are literally throwing away their title options.