In addition to the two poor results Bayern Munich suffered ever since Thomas Tuchel replaced Julian Nagelsmann as manager, optics around the club weren’t great after the dressing room scuffle between Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane that left the latter with a swollen lip. The incident was carried over from a verbal argument the two attackers had on the pitch during the 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on a night where Pep Guardiola’s side were miles ahead of his previous employer.
Mane has since been fined and he was left out of the squad that drew TSG Hoffenheim 1-1 in the Bundesliga over the weekend despite Sane’s request for his teammate to not be punished at all.
For Mane, his future with Bayern remains in question and all signs are pointing towards a potential summer exit somewhere besides his former club, Liverpool, who are not about the Senegalese’s return. Ever since his knee injury suffered shortly before the World Cup break in the hinrunde, Mane has struggled to find his form after he’d made a positive start to his Bayern tenure, scoring five goals from Bayern’s opening six competitive matches.
In the press conference ahead of the Hoffenhaim draw, Tuchel confirmed that the proverbial hatchet had been buried between the two players and that the club had already moved past the issue. “That’s settled. A game and a fine are the consequences of what happened. I didn’t see it myself because I was in the coaching room. Of course I immediately spoke to everyone involved, the players and the staff,” he explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Getting ahead of it after it actually happened was the way Tuchel said he wanted to deal with it, instead of letting it marinade for a certain period of time. “Because it concerned us and because it was a blatant incident, it was important that we clarify the matter before we start the next training session. We did that yesterday. We have cleared up everything so that we can train positively with each other again,” he said.
