Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Tuchel defend Dayot Upamecano’s performance

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22 February 2024, 10:14 yayınlandı

Bayern Munich had a disastrous match against Manchester City on the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The Citizens ended Bayern’s unbeaten streak in the Champions League by trouncing the Bavarians 3-0.

Dayot Upamecano failed to cover his man on a Manchester City attack on the first half, trying to head the ball, even though he was nowhere near it. This led to one of City’s most clear opportunities in the 33th minute, with Yan Sommer just barely sending the ball to a corner kick with his left foot.

In the 49th minute, the Frenchman created a mess in Bayern’s penalty area after failing to clear the ball and giving a weak pass to Yann Sommer instead. This created a clear opportunity for Manchester City. Joshua Kimmich had to block Erling Haaland’s point blank shot.

That wasn’t the last of the Frenchman’s mistakes, though, as he clumsily lost the ball on the first third against Jack Grealish, who back-heeled the ball towards the Norwegian android, Haaland. This would end with Bernardo Silva heading the ball into Sommer’s goal to make it 2-0.

Nonetheless, both Bayern Munich’s captain Joshua Kimmich and coach didn’t hesitate to defend the Frenchman’s performance. As Kimmich told Sport1’s Kerry Hau (via @iMiaSanMia): “It’s very bitter for Upa. But it’s not for nothing that he plays for us. He has top qualities and we believe in him.”

Bayern’s coach Thomas Tuchel also defended the Bayern’s center-back to Abendzeitung’s Patrick Strasser (via @iMiaSanMia): “Upamecano is still young, he will learn from it. If you play so many games, you’ll make a mistake at some point. That punished us today and cost us the game — but things go on.”

Upamecano is not even close to being the sole guilty player for Bayern’s debacle, as many players had a less-than-stellar match; Jamal Musiala was not able to link the midfield with the forwards, Leon Goretzka was non-existent, and, apart from some Leroy Sané’s attempts on goal, Bayern struggled to threaten Manchester City’s goal.

Interested in an in-depth, two person review of the game? Well then check out our postgame podcast! Chuck and INNN harshly critique everything that went wrong in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City, from individual player performances to tactics, transfers, and the board themselves. Listen to it below or on Spotify.