Bayern Munich: Thomas Tuchel under spotlight after poor start to Ruckrunde

Bayern Munich suffered their second defeat of the Bundesliga campaign last weekend. Werder Bremen clinched a narrow 1-0 win against Bayern at Allianz Arena on matchday 19 of the Bundesliga. It was a meek performance where Die Roten struggled to put pressure on the visiting side.

Thomas Tuchel was critical of his team after the defeat against Werder Bremen. The German manager couldn’t explain the difference in the training performances and the games. This public statement from Tuchel has not gone down well with the club hierarchy, as per SportBild.

The German media outlet also reports that club chiefs are concerned by the lack of a clear style of play under Tuchel despite being at the helm for more than ten months. Tuchel may end up fighting for his job at Bayern if things don’t improve in terms of performances and style of play.

Bayern have not lost frequently this season, precisely three defeats across all competitions. However, the nature of all three defeats has been alarming. The defeat away at Saarbrucken in the second round of DFB Pokal at the start of November showed a lack of ruthlessness in the team. They dominated possession but couldn’t find the cutting edge. Saarbrucken managed to make Bayern pay for their problems by scoring the winner in the dying minutes of the game.

The second defeat came away at Eintracht Frankfurt on December 9. Die Roten conceded five goals in the game and scored only one goal. It was a shambolic performance, as Rekordmeister showed no resilience when things were difficult on the pitch.

Bayern have been scoring freely, but they still have the knack of conceding cheap goals, which was visible at the end of last season under Tuchel. The record Bundesliga champions have been able to grind out results this campaign, but club chiefs definitely want to see a much clearer philosophy on taking shape on the pitch.

Tuchel may not be at immediate risk of losing the job. The Bavarian club will have a decision to make in the summer if they end the campaign with zero trophies. Tuchel will need to show a much better style of football on the pitch, or else even a Bundesliga title win will not save him. The German coach can silence all critics and extend his stay in Bavaria by winning the Bundesliga and Champions League.

 Die Roten have shown no hesitance when it comes to making coaching changes, but at some point, they will need continuity. It remains to be seen if Tuchel can provide that stability.