Bayern Munich: Lothar Matthaus slams Thomas Tuchel after DFB Pokal exit
The results have been positive for Bayern Munich this season until Wednesday. They had gone unbeaten in all competitions but suffered their first defeat in DFB Pokal against Saarbrucken. It was a catastrophic result as Bayern were knocked out of the competition. It was an outstanding result and effort from third division side Saarbrucken.
The result on Wednesday will certainly bring a lot of scrutiny on the team and Thomas Tuchel. Previously, Dietmar Hamann had publicly criticized Tuchel for the team’s performance against Galatasaray in the Champions League. Bayern had won the game in Turkey, but the performance was far from perfect.
Bayern had to dig deep in a few games this season to get victories. As long as wins come, Tuchel can definitely deflect criticism by pointing towards results. However, when results don’t go your way with insipid performances, the criticism will be heavy at a big club like Bayern.
The defeat away at Saarbrucken has ended Die Roten’s hopes of winning a treble this season. While talking to Sky Sports after the defeat on Wednesday, former Bayern defender Lothar Matthaus heavily criticized Tuchel for not implementing a clear style of play at the club.
"“Even after months under Tuchel, the team is still not playing any better than they did under Julian Nagelsmann. The big wins against Bochum and Darmstadt were okay, but if we’re honest, they had a lot of luck in Copenhagen, at Galatasaray, against United or in Mainz. The wins weren’t undeserved, but they weren’t great either.”“Something doesn’t seem right. Where is the dominance, the strength and the belief to control everything and everyone on the pitch? What is the match plan? Musiala, Sané and Kane will sort it out and that’s it? That won’t work.”"
Matthaus has made a valid point, but it’s too soon to judge Tuchel’s tenure. The end of the campaign will be the right time to judge Tuchel’s tenure in Bavaria. He definitely needs silverware in the Bundesliga and a deep run in the Champions League.
Bayern have often looked to win games along with entertaining performances this season. The club always expects to play an attractive style of football along with getting results. At some point in the season, good teams have to grind results. However, the Bavarian faithful will expect Tuchel to get the balance between results and performances sooner rather than later.
Matthaus has also insisted that Thomas Tuchel now needs to win the Champions League to make this season successful for Bayern. The Bavarian club has endured pain in knockout games since winning the competition in 2020. Tuchel helped Chelsea to win the trophy in 2021, so he definitely has the pedigree to bring the trophy back to Allianz Arena. It is now just a matter of getting things right on the pitch and bringing a sense of calmness to the club.
Next. Tactical takeaways from 2-1 loss against Saarbrucken. dark
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For now, Thomas Tuchel can respond to the criticism by getting a good run of results along with good performances. He needs to get a reaction from the squad in Saturday’s big game away at Borussia Dortmund. A poor result at Dortmund may further pile the pressure on Tuchel.