Bayern Munich: Matthaus baffled by lack of playing time for Mathys Tel
The last three games have been a nightmare for Bayern Munich. The three defeats across the Bundesliga and Champions League forced the club chiefs to part ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. As things stand, the Bavarian club faces an uphill task of ending the season with a trophy.
Bayern have been poor defensively, but the bigger concerns have been in the final third. They couldn’t muster quality chances against Bayer Leverkusen and Lazio. There was improvement in the final third against VfL Bochum, but it was still not good enough to get the win.
The Bavarian club has gone from scoring freely in Hinrunde to struggling to get the shots on target in Ruckrunde. Considering the quality of attacking players in the squad, it is quite astonishing to see Bayern struggling for goals.
After Harry Kane, Mathys Tel has been the most efficient forward for Bayern this season. Since things were not clicking in the final third against Lazio and Bayer Leverkusen, Tel was expected to get a start against Bochum. However, the French forward had to be content with a second-half cameo. While talking to Sky Sports, former Bayern midfielder Lothar Matthaus expressed his disappointment in not seeing Tel in the starting lineup against Bochum.
"“Before the Bochum game, I thought about why this young player, who always performed when he came in, didn't actually get more playing time. Tel has received a lot of praise from Tuchel, but praise alone is not what the player wants, he wants playing time. When I saw the lineup in Bochum, I was surprised.”"
- Lothar Matthaus
Mathys Tel came on in the 79th minute against Bochum when Bayern were already a man down and trailing by two goals. In the limited time on the pitch, Tel showed what Die Roten was missing in the final third. The French caused problems for Bochum’s defense with his aggressive dribbling and pace. He ended up creating the goal for Harry Kane, which gave Bayern some hope of getting back in the game.
The French forward is yet to start a game in the Bundesliga. He has been chipping in with goals and assists from the bench. Tel has three goals and three assists to his name in the Bundesliga after spending only 373 minutes on the pitch. He has also contributed with two goals and one assist in the Champions League. (Stats courtesy: Whoscored)
Tuchel has previously admitted that Tel is much more potent as an option from the bench than utilizing him in the starting XI. The Bavarian club has been careful about managing his workload. When the team is struggling in attack, using Tel sparingly is baffling.
The French forward is not expected to start against RB Leipzig on Saturday. Tel remains keen on becoming a big player at Bayern. However, he will be open to pushing for a permanent transfer in the summer if Die Roten fail to give him assurances over playing time from next season.