Bayern Munich: Joshua Kimmich disappointed after not starting against Bayer Leverkusen

The matchday 21 of the Bundesliga was disastrous for Bayern Munich. Just when Die Roten had the opportunity to lay down the marker in the title race, they suffered a 3-0 defeat against league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Xabi Alonso’s team completely outplayed Bayern to get all three points and extend their lead to five points at the top of the points table.

Thomas Tuchel made a significant change to the system against Leverkusen. He fielded a back three instead of the usual back four. Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae returned to the starting lineup and formed the back three with Eric Dier. Tuchel persisted with the midfield pairing of Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leon Goretzka after their success against Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg.

The change in the system hardly helped Die Roten’s cause. They dominated possession but hardly troubled Leverkusen. Meanwhile, the hosts were ruthless on the break and created multiple scoring opportunities. It will be a big surprise if Tuchel uses this system again before the end of the season.

Tuchel and Bayern had received a big fitness boost last week after Joshua Kimmich and Upamecano returned to full training. The French defender was straight back in the starting XI, but Kimmich had to be content with a place on the bench. While talking to Bild, Kimmich expressed disappointment after missing out on a place in the starting XI against Bayer Leverkusen.

""In the past two weeks I did everything I could to get back quickly and play from the start. At the end of the day, the coach makes decisions that we players have to accept.""

- Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich was struggling with a shoulder injury in the last two weeks. However, the German international worked hard in training to recover for the crunch games against Bayer Leverkusen and Lazio.

The German midfielder has not been at his best this season, but his experience against Bayer Leverkusen would have been handy. It was not surprising to see Bayern much more settled in the game after his introduction during the second half. However, Leverkusen had already done the damage by the time Kimmich stepped on the pitch.

Kimmich will hope to make his return to the starting lineup against Lazio on Wednesday. Tuchel needs to get a strong response from his team in this game, or else he will be in big trouble. The German coach is under pressure after a poor start to Ruckrunde in the Bundesliga.

Along with Kimmich, Thomas Muller is also expected to start against Lazio on Wednesday. The German forward was angry with the way players performed against Leverkusen on Saturday. While Tuchel deserves criticism for change in the system, the lack of fight shown by players also warrants equal criticism. The Bavarian faithful will hope to see a commanding performance in Italy on Wednesday.