Long absence, concern for Kimmich
FC Bayern paid dearly for the win against Union Berlin
January 25, 2024, 7:03 a.m
FC Bayern has to cope with the next defensive failure. Dayot Upamecano will be out for a longer period of time after tearing a fiber. Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer are other players who are also injured. The search for reinforcements is now getting even more pressure.
Thomas Tuchel was happy. And with that, FC Bayern had already gained a lot. After the shocking 0-1 defeat against Werder Bremen, the Munich team did not turn on their anger engine as usual, as they usually do after serious setbacks, but their performance against Union Berlin was very serious. The record champions’ team was not in serious danger of conceding a goal. So the only complaint that could be made is that it was only enough to score one of our own goals. But after days in which there had been a lot of complaining in Munich, his sparkling clean number without any highlights in the B grade was a good thing.
“I think we deserved to win, even if it was close. We got the result we wanted,” said Tuchel. You will hardly find anyone who will give a counter-speech. It was particularly important to him that his players got out of the bored idleness they had shown against Werder and carried out their task this time “very attentively and disciplined”. This was to reduce the gap to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen from seven points to four and thus keep the pressure on.
Worked fine. Bayern and their coach, who had recently seemed very desperate, did not want to fall into the mode of great satisfaction. The team is still not where you would like to see a Munich team. In first place, with thrilling football. And so the coach clearly stated what he didn’t like against the Berliners, who were only focused on defending: the “precision” in crossing and finishing left a lot to be desired, after a good quarter of an hour at the beginning of the second half there was “a break in given to “energy”. In addition, “the second goal was missing”. A (record) goal from Harry Kane after Raphaël Guerreiro took the lead (46′) was ruled out for offside.
The 22-time goalscorer this season missed Robert Lewandowski’s record in the first half of the season. The Pole, who now plays for FC Barcelona, also scored 22 goals for FC Bayern in the 17 first half of the season in his 41-goal record season 2020/21.
Eric Dier impresses in his debut
Guerreiro, who had been the subject of much controversy in recent days because he played for Leon Goretzka, made amends. And gave his coach further arguments. He had defended his line-up by saying that the Portuguese currently gave no reasons to leave him out. Goretzka didn’t do that either, according to chief expert Lothar Matthäus. According to the record national player, the dynamic midfielder cannot be replaced and is also very important for the hierarchy. So both played now, but Alphonso Davies had to give way. The coach had confirmed to the weak left-back that he had room for improvement for weeks. Guerreiro moved to the outside and was convincing.
This also applied to Eric Dier, the only winter transfer so far. He came into the game at half-time for Dayot Upamecano and stood out with his self-confidence and sovereignty. Tuchel was very impressed with his debut: “Eric played as I would have expected.” And he will probably have to do this more often in the coming weeks. Because the Munich team paid dearly for the victory against Union. Upamecano will be out longer. He was injured in a running duel before the break. “It’s a matter of weeks, not days. This is extremely bitter for Upa and for us. He has been in absolutely top form for many weeks,” said Tuchel.
“It’s a fiber injury in the back of the thigh,” said Tuchel. And only consoled himself a little with the fact that he could bet on Dier. The transfer of the English international, who was hardly used at Tottenham Hotspur, has already “paid off.” And depending on what the medical department says, the transfer pressure on sports director Christoph Freund will continue to increase. Because there are also concerns about Konrad Laimer, who can be used flexibly, and Joshua Kimmich. The midfielder suffered a shoulder injury and was visibly in pain. Laimer later left the arena limping. However, the Austrian is more worried about a failure than Kimmich, said Tuchel. “I hope it’s as little as possible,” said Laimer, who may have suffered a muscle injury to his calf.
“We definitely won’t panic”
Despite the new worries and the dismissals of Min-jae Kim for the Asian Cup and Noussair Mazraoui for the Africa Cup, the people of Munich do not want to fall into blind actionism. According to Tuchel, the transfer plans will not be overturned in the blink of an eye. “We’re definitely not going to panic; injuries are also part of the season. We’re not out of luck. We’re not going to throw our strategy aside because of a muscle injury.” But it is clear “what we want to do – and what we don’t do.” Like Kieran Trippier. The England international, for whom intensive efforts were made, is definitely not coming. The issue “is settled,” said Freund. PSG’s Nordi Mukiele declined to comment on interest.
The Berlin coach in particular caused a lot of excitement on Wednesday evening. Nenad Bjelica grabbed Leroy Sané in the face and saw red for it. There was criticism from within our own ranks. “Coaches and players serve as role models. Emotions are okay, but when things get physical, that’s not possible,” said national player Robin Gosens. “He knows that his fuse may have blown. He can’t get carried away,” said Kevin Vogt about the excitement surrounding his coach.
Bjelica apologized after the game – but expressly not to “opponent” Sané. “What I did can’t be tolerated, I just have to apologize to my team,” Bjelica said on Sky after the game, “not to Sané: He comes into the coaching zone to provoke me.”