The new Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel has started to win all three titles. After the end of the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup against SC Freiburg, the triple mission came to an abrupt end. “In the end it’s our own fault,” he said after the game.
For Thomas Müller, a “Sunday shot” and a “legitimate penalty” cost Munich a place in the DFB Cup semi-finals. That’s how close you could summarize this quarterfinal. Longer speaking, there was a lot in a game that became a Bavarian drama at its climax.
Müller: “Didn’t play a bad game”
“We didn’t play a bad game,” said Thomas Müller on the ARD microphone, his team “hardly let the opponent get a chance to score”. His coach Thomas Tuchel described the evening in a similar way: “We scored two goals with two long-range shots.” Freiburg’s Nicolas Höfler was involved on both occasions. He scored the first goal with a long-range shot from 25 meters away. When Freiburg scored the second, it was Höfler who put the ball in Jamal Musiala’s hand. Lucas Höler converted the penalty kick and became the Freiburg hero of the evening.
Streich would have preferred to win earlier in Munich
“I would have preferred to have won for the first time in Munich a few years ago, but I’m already looking forward to it,” commented Freiburg coach Christian Streich on the club’s semi-final entry in typical Streich manner. It was Freiburg’s first victory in Munich – at the right time.
“We needed a bit of luck, but we defended really passionately,” Streich praised his team, without mistaking the fortunate circumstances that led to this victory: Then you need a moment where you get the penalty and then to win.”
Playfulness and crucial centimeters are missing
This moment was not granted to the Munich team that evening. “The one two centimeters and the sense of humor were missing,” complained Bayern’s captain Thomas Müller after the game. In fact, the game on the pitch in the Munich Arena was more like a handball game than a soccer match. Bayern moved the ball from left to right and Freiburg consistently closed the spaces in the center. “We squeezed Freiburg, but we didn’t think enough in the last third,” complained Müller.
His coach saw “good, sometimes very good moments” at the beginning, but the game flattened out minute by minute, especially in the second half. His team didn’t manage to “keep up the pace until it tipped in our favor,” said Tuchel angrily after the game. “In the end it’s our own fault. We’re super disappointed to go out in a home game in the quarterfinals,” said Coach, hinting that his players might be a bit overplayed.
Tuchel releases players
That’s why he gave his protégés a day off tomorrow. The national players in particular “need urgently to sleep in their own beds for a night and not come to Säbener Straße,” the 49-year-old made it clear. In the end, however, Tuchel preferred to look ahead. “We’re in a really tight race for the championship. Let’s keep going,” he said, setting the course for the coming weeks.
Bayern meet Freiburg again on Saturday – this time away from home. Then Munich will travel to Manchester City for the first leg of the quarter-finals in the Champions League. FCB can no longer achieve the treble this season. Now it’s time to secure the double from the championship and the Champions League. You could definitely live with that in Munich.
Those: BR24Sport
4/4/2023 – 11:30 p.m