“Level” not maintained again
Tuchel is looking for solutions for fickle FC Bayern
September 17, 2023, 9:07 p.m
FC Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen are playing a thrilling top game, at the end of which the question is: Is the Werkself a real contender for the title. Thomas Tuchel avoids the question; he is concerned with completely different topics. For example, how his team finally gets consistency into the game.
Thomas Tuchel’s beer tent calculation no longer works after the first round. The 50-year-old ascetic is not a Oktoberfest fan – and he doesn’t drink beer either. But in order to get in the ideal mood “for a proper Oktoberfest visit” and the obligatory amount of toasting with his players next Sunday, the coach didn’t just want “preparatory work” with three wins in the home triple against Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester United and VfL Bochum , but required.
Now “o’zapft” has been in Munich since Saturday – but after the 2-2 draw in the lively game against strong Leverkusen players, the mood at FC Bayern was rather subdued. “I have to digest this first,” said club boss Jan-Christian Dreesen. The missed lead in the Bundesliga, but especially the last-minute penalty for Bayer to make the final score 2-2, which was well deserved, did not (yet) create a celebratory mood. The missed change at the top of the table after the 4th of 34 matchdays was something Bayern had to cope with. From the series champion’s point of view, the more important finding of the test of strength was that there is a team in Bayer under the guidance of coach Xabi Alonso that appears to be developing into a real challenger in the title fight.
Always waves in the Bayern game
“I don’t know the main competitor, I’m definitely a competitor,” answered Leon Goretzka, asking whether the Leverkusen team was the biggest opponent. Tuchel had “no clever answer” to the same question. Over the weekend he was looking for answers as to why his star ensemble simply cannot perform consistently for over 90 minutes. “We once again found it very difficult to maintain the level,” said Tuchel after a dominant opening 20 minutes, twice in the lead through Harry Kane and Leon Goretzka, but also “waves” that were puzzling for him. They keep sneaking into the Bayern game.
Bayern’s competitor Bayer seems to be further ahead. “Very good team, clear handwriting, good coach,” said Tuchel appreciatively of Xabi Alonso’s team, which was able to hit back twice in stoppage time thanks to free-kick taker Alejandro Grimaldo and penalty taker Exequiel Palacios. Ex-Bayern player Alonso proudly spoke of “a very mature performance”. Still pumped full of adrenaline, the outstanding goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky said: “We remain number one! We have passed the toughest endurance test! They were a bit scared of us!”
Penalty makes Müller angry
Of course they didn’t and don’t have any problems with Bayer. But respect. “So far they have shown why they are up there,” said Thomas Müller. Bayern were annoying in the high-intensity top game with wild ups and downs, tons of chances and several emotional turning points, but especially the referee.
Müller was particularly angry about the “very, very soft penalty” after the duel between Alphonso Davies and the grateful Jonas Hofmann in the penalty area. “Leverkusen will say, great referee whistle, clear foul. But we’re still playing contact sports,” grumbled Müller. Referee Schlager, however, “came clear relatively quickly” when he looked at the TV images that he was following video referee Matthias Jöllenbeck’s advice.
“And then we’ll start again”
Tuchel’s furious assistant Zsolt Löw was shown a red card after kick-off. Tuchel also got upset several times during the game, received a yellow card and even spoke of “two questionable decisions against us” given the free kick whistle before the 1-1 score. Although he rated the draw as a “fair result”, he interpreted it based on the way the game was going: “If you score the opening goal so late, you can take three points from a fair draw.”
But there wasn’t much time for quarreling and anger. After all, the Oktoberfest weeks are jam-packed. On Wednesday (9 p.m./DAZN and in the live ticker on ntv.de) The Champions League starts – and with a classic against Manchester United. “We’re now trying to collect the grains again. And then we’ll get started again,” announced Captain Müller. England’s record champions lost 3-1 in the Premier League against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. It seems as if something could be done to increase the Oktoberfest anticipation at FC Bayern.