Thomas Tuchel appeared thin-skinned and annoyed to the max in the press conference after the 3-0 defeat against RB Leipzig: “It feels like a complete continuation of last season,” he analysed and added: “That is not enough.
There is no need to exaggerate the Supercup and Bayern’s heavy defeat. A year ago, the Munich team won 5:3 in Leipzig, then swept past Eintracht Frankfurt 6:1 at the start of the Bundesliga, and hardly anyone suspected at the time what a fatal development the season would take. In this respect, panic and doomsday scenarios are premature.
Nevertheless, the highest home defeat since a 0:3 against Mönchengladbach in October 2018 should be a fierce warning shot. Six days before the start of the Bundesliga at Werder Bremen, the Munich team fell back into old patterns that had been thought to have been abandoned over the summer. They have not exuded the self-image of a champion on the pitch for some time now.
The Munich team continues to concede goals far too easily, and their individual defensive behaviour is poor to insufficient in the decisive scenes. On Saturday evening, a ball loss by Joshua Kimmich led to Leipzig’s first chance as early as the second minute. Following the first standard situation, the defence fumbled on a second ball less than 60 seconds later, 0:1.
It was probably Tel’s last chance in the starting eleven for the time being
The second goal, undoubtedly brilliantly scored by Dani Olmo, left Matthjis de Ligt and Konrad Laimer standing there like schoolboys, both of whom Tuchel substituted at half-time. Benjamin Pavard was also hit by the coach’s ban. The Frenchman looked as if he had already left Munich in his mind and was at Manchester United, who were courting him. The third goal was the result of an unfortunate handball by the otherwise good Noussair Mazraoui. This scene also reeked of continuation, already last season the Munich side had caused a double-digit number of penalties against them.
On the offensive, the Munich side were proliferating chances. Mathys Tel was allowed to start as central point and missed two great chances to equalise after the early 0:1. It was probably the last chance for the young Frenchman to start for the time being. In the press conference, Tuchel gave out a starting eleven guarantee for Harry Kane, who was celebrated frenetically when he came on as a substitute, starting with the game in Bremen.
The Englishman, who had been signed the day before, was unsurprisingly unable to create any impetus as a wild card. All in all, the Munich team revealed many misunderstandings, too often the last ball did not arrive, many things seemed uncoordinated. Kane is expected to remedy the lack of chances in Bremen. The defensive weaknesses remain Tuchel’s biggest problem for the time being. Even after a complete preparation.
