It has been a mixed bag for Bayern Munich in the first half of the season. Thomas Tuchel has got the team playing good football, but a couple of poor results and performances have overshadowed a decent Hinrunde.
Bayern are currently second in the Bundesliga, four points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, but they have a game in hand. They lost only one game in the league when they travelled away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite a 5-1 defeat in Frankfurt, Bayern have been fairly good at both ends of the pitch (goals scored- 49, goals conceded- 15).
The biggest blot on Die Roten’s Hinrunde has been the DFB Pokal exit against Saarbrucken. For the fourth consecutive season, Bayern have failed to go deep in the domestic competition. The Champions League was almost flawless for Die Roten as they remained unbeaten in the group stage. They will be facing Lazio in the round of 16 during the second half of the season.
Despite the DFB Pokal exit, there has been a marked improvement in performances under Tuchel than last season. They are playing better football and winning more games than last campaign. Let us look at the three players that have enjoyed an impressive first half of the season in the Bavarian colours.