First catastrophic, then dominant
Angry Tuchel accuses Bayern stars of “hara-kiri”.
March 2, 2024, 6:46 a.m
FC Bayern is not getting going. The hard-fought victory against RB Leipzig was followed by the next disappointment in the Bundesliga. At SC Freiburg the points are shared. Coach Thomas Tuchel once again seems perplexed, especially given the first 30 minutes.
Lucas Höler was the party crasher. The SC Freiburg striker made it 2-2 with a remarkable volley late on Friday evening. There were still three minutes left on the clock at this point (regular playing time), and FC Bayern, the guests at the Europa Park Stadium, were about to crown their anniversary game with a victory. The Munich team played in the Bundesliga for the 2000th time. No other club can keep up with that. But there was no gift, three points. Because Höler just scored.
It was a special day for FC Bayern. Not just because of the special game. Friday was also the first official working day for Max Eberl, the new sports director. He wants to make the club a known size and known dominance again. This has been lost in the last few weeks and months. And he wants to bring peace back to this club, which has become so restless. I was infected by the ever-nervous environment around Säbener Straße.
For him, the priority is to subject the existing substance to a precise examination. Hardly anyone can be sure of themselves. Only Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane and the two veterans Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer are considered untouchable for the next season. For everyone else it means: everything can, nothing has to. However, the new man remained silent on Friday evening about his first findings in Breisgau: “Now I have to let it sink in.” You only got one point, not three. The aim was to increase the pressure on league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. That didn’t work. The Werkself can get to ten points with a win in the derby at 1. FC Köln.
“It was partly hara-kiri”
Victory would have been possible every time. If the FC Bayern footballers had been concentrated and focused for 90 minutes. But they weren’t. They only spent 60 minutes doing what they could do and what they had thought about with coach Thomas Tuchel. After the game he was once again at a loss and in some cases even stunned: “We played completely without structure, were far too undisciplined and out of our positions. We had attacks when it didn’t start at all, we lost the ball in the forward movement “, he was annoyed and continued to complain: “It was partly hara-kiri. We had phases where our central defender was running after the full-back. We did things that we had never trained before, we had never talked about.”
Munich’s newly formed defense got off to a terrible start in the game. Eric Dier and Minjae Kim defended in the middle, both of them seemed extremely unsure, especially on the ball. On the right was Joshua Kimmich, who repeatedly revealed problems with his orientation. For example, in the situation that led to the 0:1 from the guests’ perspective. Vincenzo Grifo and Christian Günter came down the left and Kimmich didn’t know who to pick. Another chain of errors followed before Günter took the lead with an outstanding shot (12th). From then on, the people of Munich plunged into chaos for minutes. Günter failed due to the outstanding Neuer (16th), Grifo narrowly missed (22nd).
However, the Freiburg team didn’t keep up the immense pressure for long and retreated surprisingly quickly. And suddenly there they were, Bayern. They sensed the enemy’s weakness and came with force. Although it was obvious that the three top wingers, Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, were missing, there were hardly any tempo runs on the flanks. But even so, the Munich team managed to press the Sport Club players deep into their own penalty area. Tuchel’s team wasn’t always able to make something countable out of it. This time yes. After a corner, the ball landed at Mathys Tel, who left his opponent standing and scored with a powerful shot from the corner of the penalty area. Also a fine goal (35th).
“The fact that we don’t win is due to a lucky goal”
The Munich team increased the number of hits massively. Kane, who had directed and complained a lot in the first half, was now seen in his actual role, as a striker. Immediately after the break he put the ball in front of himself with his heel, but then narrowly missed the ball. The whole game was now characterized by a different belief. Of more courage, of more speed. Alphonso Davies also brought this with him, celebrating his comeback after a good 60 minutes. Freiburg faltered and Bayern powered on. Musiala was denied by Atubolu (71′), a header from Kane was cleared by Höler just before the line (72′). Three minutes later Musiala started again and this time he was unstoppable. After a remarkable solo run, he flicked the ball into the right corner.
Everything was now ready for the party for the 2000th game. But then Höler came along and snatched the two important points from the record champions. “The fact that we don’t win is because of a lucky goal from a set piece that we can also defend better,” complained Tuchel. “In terms of physicality and doggedness, the difference from the first half hour to the next hour was too striking to expect to go out with a win.” It was all discussed, Tuchel complained, “that we want to play here with a different level of emotion and doggedness. We’ll come back with an individual action, there was no other way at that moment. The second half was okay. In the end you can say : One half isn’t enough when you come here wanting to win.”
“We are Bayern Munich, we hate to lose”
Musiala, previously known as a man of quiet tones, became even clearer. “We are Bayern Munich, we hate losing. That’s what I’ve had in my head since I’ve been here: We should win, we hate losing. It’s really annoying the way things are going right now, for me personally and for everyone. We “Everyone wants to win and become champions and win titles. We have to stay as positive as possible, push through, play as well as we can until the end and maybe get something out of it.”
In the Bundesliga the chances are dwindling more and more. “Only” the Champions League remains. There it is against Lazio Rome on Tuesday. The mortgage from the first leg: a 0:1. However, the Romans also botched the dress rehearsal for the performance in the Allianz Arena. They lost a heated duel against AC Milan 0-1 with three men sent off. What now for Bayern? Even Tuchel doesn’t know what to expect. “The ups and downs have been with us for a long time. 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.”