Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel in the Bochum rain.
Those: IMAGO
When the third defeat in a row was official at 7:47 p.m., what was seen at FC Bayern were mostly empty looks. Disappointed and completely disappointed, the Munich players crept across the pitch. Thomas Tuchel’s attempts at encouragement seemed almost strange. Because the coach had to be at least as dejected as his staff after the third competitive defeat in eight days.
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What happens to coach Tuchel?
But Tuchel should still not be shaken. The coach will “of course” sit on the bench next Saturday in the Bundesliga game against RB Leipzig, said CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen after the defeat in Bochum on Sunday evening.
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Munich are now eight points behind Leverkusen. Even Tuchel admitted that it didn’t seem “so realistic” to him that he could win Bayern’s twelfth league title in a row. The 50-year-old did remember the previous season, in which Dortmund were intercepted on the last matchday and won the championship. “The prerequisite is of course that we get on track,” said Tuchel.
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Bavaria’s crisis is getting worse
However, it doesn’t look like that at the moment, despite a good initial phase in Bochum with Jamal Musiala taking the lead. But then the game completely slipped away from Bayern. Takuma Asano and Keven Schlotterbeck turned the game around for Bochum within six minutes.
Later, Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano was sent off with a yellow-red card after an elbow. Kevin Stöger converted the penalty kick to make it 3-1. Bayern made it 3-2 through Harry Kane. But the bottom line was the next defeat and the impression that Munich’s crisis was getting worse.
“Horror film” and Kimmich dispute
“It feels like a horror film at the moment that doesn’t stop,” said midfielder Leon Goretzka on DAZN, “everything is actually going against us.” Finding explanations for this is difficult. You always allow yourself to make too many individual mistakes. “At the moment, I think we have to question everything,” said Goretzka.
Added to this are the atmospheric tensions. Midfielder Joshua Kimmich was completely served after his substitution in Bochum (63′). Afterward, he sat on the bench and complained. Kimmich later clashed with assistant coach Zsolt Löw. Captain Manuel Neuer intervened. Tuchel later said: “I know what was going on. This is not for the public.” It was a “pretty normal incident” and remained “within limits”.
Joshua Kimmich disappointed after substitution.
Those: IMAGO
First titleless season in twelve years is looming
The overriding question is becoming more and more pressing: What now, FC Bayern? What is certain is that Munich is facing its first titleless season in twelve years. Neither of the two theoretically achievable titles is really realistic at the moment, neither in the Bundesliga nor in the Champions League.
Tuchel was combative in Bochum and referred to the team’s performance. “We performed differently than in Leverkusen and Rome,” he said: “The ‘how’ is crucial. That was ok.”
The opposite of Tuchel’s demand
However, the performance was by no means convincing in the third defeat in a row. Before this negative series, Tuchel had called for “pants down, cards on the table” and a “statement performance” in Leverkusen.
Tuchel had said: “This is the week in which we want to prove ourselves.” Now they at FC Bayern are looking back on a week like something out of a horror film.