Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich vs. Mainz; Bayern eyeing Dutch goalkeeper?; Liverpool’s Rober…

Die Folgen: Bayern’s shocking 3-1 loss to Mainz (Bavarian Football Works)

What…a…mess.

Thomas Tuchel’s ill-conceived and poorly-timed Rückrunde hiring, yielded yet another loss as Bayern Munich was spanked 3-1 by Mainz 05.

Yes, this is a decent Mainz squad…but not that decent.

I could just say it was a bleepin’ mess and move on, but why should I have had to suffer through that without providing a place for us all to commiserate with our tales from the match.

This is painful, but here are some quick hitters on the game:

Let’s start with the lineup:

FINALLY! Thomas Tuchel went back to the only system that currently fits this roster — some version of a modified 3-4-2-1. Playing Thomas Müller and Jamal Musiala together has been the key for the Bavarians in terms of being dangerous, but both Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann have gone through periods of moving away from it — or just refusing to use it.
The problem? Müller had his worst game of the season and Musiala was probably even more ineffective. It was a brutal showing for those two players.
I thought Noussair Mazraoui would get a start after his griping, but the reports about his fitness following his COVID complications is concerning. Either way, he’s not happy with his current status. I also thought Mathys Tel would get a start, but Tuchel opted for Sadio Mané.
It was good to see Josip Stanišić get the nod to play, but he struggled and looked out of sorts. This was probably his worst effort of the season.
Alphonso Davies looked like he pulled a hamstring in the 9th minute and was replaced by Mazraoui, so I guess that ended up working out for the Moroccan (albeit, not nearly the way he wanted it to). Mazraoui ended up turning in a very solid shift and was one of the few bright spots on the day.
After scuffing a few chances, Bayern Munich finally got on the scoreboard in the 29th minute on a beautiful play from Cancelo (who shifted to left wing-back when Davies went down). The Manchester City loanee was allowed to get off a diagonal cross that was curling in when Sadio Mané got a head on it to flick it in the net. Rest assured, both players absolutely needed that moment — especially Mane, who had a goal wiped away for being offside earlier in the match.
Even with Stanišić making some truly awful decisions, Bayern Munich looked more stable using a back three, which allowed the attack to play a little more free flowing in the first half (Hint: Bleep fell apart in the second half).
Speaking of the second half, what a debacle. Bayern Munich gave up three goals, looked like it had no answers for Mainz (!?), and was thoroughly outplayed.
If you know anything about coaches sending a message, you know Tuchel was hammering his team leaders (Müller, Joshua Kimmich) by replacing them with Mathys Tel and Ryan Gravenberch.
Kimmich spent most of the match under duress and struggling to deal with Mainz’s effective pressing. It was not his best effort by any means, but he wasn’t out-and-out bad or anything. Tuchel seems to be the first coach to bench Kimmich like this — a widely known “no-no” at Bayern Munich since Kimmich has evolved to ”untouchable” status for both club and country.
The goals were the end result of repeated breakdowns, some poor decision-making, poor goalkeeping, and just about everything you might expect with this score line.
Perhaps more impressive from Mainz than any of Bayern Munich’s errors was that the Die Nullfünfer played as if they had zero fear or respect for what Bayern Munich could do. It was truly a “Let’s do it live!” effort.
Overall, Bayern Munich is broken. Its confidence, its assurance, its awareness, its intensity, its hunger…its mentality. The hiring of Tuchel didn’t just crack the foundation of the team, it completely destroyed it. Injecting uncertainty, unnecessary pressure, and doubt into the season when the board did was unforgivable — and this is not even fully blaming Tuchel for the mess; he was just the vessel helping lead the squad into the abyss. That decision was the apex of a trend of bad leadership and poor decision-making that has left Bayern Munich without an identity and minus any direction. It’s a mess…and one that probably requires a massive overhaul to fix.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, given them a look or a listen:

Bayern could make move on Dutch goalkeeper (Football-Oranje)

Bayern Munich is currently looking at a stable of goalkeepers for the 2023/24 season that includes Manuel Neuer, Yann Sommer, Alexander Nubel, Sven Ulreich, and even Johannes Schenk (who could leave on a loan).

However, that does not mean that the club is done looking at the position, however. Bayern Munich could be looking to add Anderlecht’s Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen:

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Bayern Munich has set their sights on signing Bart Verbruggen from Anderlecht. The 20-year-old is having an excellent campaign with Anderlecht and he was recently in the Netherlands squad for the first time.
Verbruggen still has two years left in his contract at Anderlecht but a summer transfer is becoming more and more likely with Liverpool and Manchester United previously linked. Now, Het Nieuwsblad is reporting that Bayern Munich wants the Dutchman.
Manuel Neuer is the first choice in Munich but the 37-year-old has spent most of the season out injured, while Yann Sommer is also 34. Bayern see Verbruggen as a goalkeeper for the future. Anderlecht hope to receive around €10 million for the stopper and they may try and loan him back if he does join a top European side.

Report: Firmino set to join Barca (Daily Mail)

Liverpool FC star Roberto Firmino, who first broke through in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, is reportedly going to play for FC Barcelona next season:

Roberto Firmino has agreed a deal to join Barcelona when his Liverpool contract ends in June. It will bring to a close his glittering eight-year stay at Anfield, where he is no longer a regular starter in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
He has won the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Club World Cup since his £29million move from Hoffenheim in 2015.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast — Season 2, Episode 41 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich’s season has been knocked upside down.

The DFB-Pokal run is over, the Champions League hopes have been crushed, and now fans have been left to pick up all of the pieces, while hoping like hell that the squad can remain focused enough to capture the Bundesliga (which is no sure thing at this point):

A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Mainz 05.
The fallout from Bayern Munich’s elimination at the hands of Manchester City including the Oliver Kahn getting ousted rumors, Thomas Tuchel’s blame game, the team’s collapse since the hiring of Tuchel, and more!
Transfer talk including Bayern Munich’s striker list — which has two less names these days, including Hasan Salihamidžić failing to take accountability for the lack of a Robert Lewandowski contingency plan.

Mazraoui will have suitors if he pushes for move (The Hard Tackle)

Not shockingly, we can add Noussair Mazraoui to the list of unhappy players at Bayern Munich. While it seems like the club might be a little wary of him as well at this juncture, the defender is getting antsy about his lack of playing time:

Premier League sides have been alerted to Noussair Mazraoui’s potential availability in the summer from Bayern Munich.
According to 90Min, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United are keen on Noussair Mazraoui this summer. The 25-year-old Bundesliga full-back could depart Bayern Munich in the summer, as his comments indicated he was unhappy at the club.

According to Inside Futbol, West Ham is also interested in Mazraoui, but Bayern Munich is reluctant to sell the young defender:

Bayern Munich are not prepared to sell West Ham-linked full-back Noussair Mazraoui in the summer transfer window, in a blow to the Hammers.
The 25-year-old joined the German champions last summer but his first season at the club has not gone according to plan.
He recently revealed his dissatisfaction at not getting enough opportunities, which has amounted to just six league starts and he was an unused substitute in both recent Champions League games against Manchester City.

In addition, Sport1’s Kerry Hau echoed this sentiment (via @iMiaSanMia):

Noussair Mazraoui is not for sale and is an integral part of next season’s plans. But internally, it is said that he has to get back to the physical and footballing level he had before his illness in training.

WTF Goal of the Week (@PhilaUnion)

We in Philadelphia are not complaining about this:

Blind probably leaving Bayern (Sport1’s Kerry Hau via @iMiaSanMia)

Daley Blind was a depth pickup for Bayern Munich, who was hoping to be part of a treble-winning run. That has not happened and Blind is buried on the bench for Thomas Tuchel.

All of that means, his short-term deal with the club will, indeed, end up being nothing more than that:

Daley Blind will leave Bayern at 99.9% in the summer. His contract will expire and there’s no option to extend it nor an intention to do so.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 1-1 Manchester City (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich earned a 1-1 decision against Manchester City in the Champions League, but it was not enough to claw through to the next round. Manchester City won the tie 4-1 on aggregate and the Bavarians will now try to hold on to their slim lead in the Bundesliga to salvage the once-promising season.

Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this episode:

A look at Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI selections — what worked, what didn’t.
A rundown of the scoring, the subs, and the many, many yellow cards.
Erling Haaland is ruining Dayot Upamecano (who had another rough outing).
When the changes go down Kingsley Coman needs to stay. He was a menace.
What this all means and why the board’s decision continues to be a complete disaster.