Thomas Tuchel has suffered his third poor result as Bayern Munich manager, as Hoffenheim escaped the Allianz Arena with a point by virtue of a 1-1 draw. Andrej Kramaric’s 71st minute free kick undid a 1-0 lead that Bayern took in the 17th minute through a close range Benjamin Pavard toe poke. The Frenchmen scored a second time in the second half, though his goal was ruled out due to offsides after VAR intervened.
This is now the third stain on Tuchel’s short managerial tenure at Bayern thus far, having already lost to SC Freiburg in the DFB-Pokal and losing 3-0 to Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals. From a sheer optics point of view, the decision to sack Julian Nagelsmann is looking worse and worse from Bayern’s front office and board.
Bayern’s blushes were ever so slightly alleviated by the fact that Borussia Dortmund drew VfB Stuttgart 3-3, keeping Bayern’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga table at two points. Still, though, it was nowhere near good enough from Bayern against Hoffenheim.
After the match, Tuchel expressed his frustration with the result, saying that he felt his side would be way more fired up to get the win after the poor performance in Manchester midweek. “I thought we were prepared and would play with rage. That was not the case, that was bad – too slow, too emotionless. We’re lacking the sense of being fired up. We need another spirit quickly,” he told Sport1’s Kerry Hau (via @iMiaSanMia).
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Tuchel also felt that there were certain phases that were just way too sloppy from Bayern’s point of view, creating some of their own problems. “We had a phase in which we misplaced like 6-7 passes in 60 seconds. The energy, the spirit, the confidence were low,” he told Patrick Strasser of Abendzeitung.
The result didn’t provide any boost of confidence going into leg two against Manchester City, which will take a hell of a performance rom Bayern to overcome a 3-0 deficit. Especially considering the rate at which Pep Guardiola’s side have been banging in goals as of late; it’s hard to see them not scoring at the Allianz Arena.
Looking for more thoughts on this debacle draw? Check out our postgame podcast where we break down why the Bayern Munich’s game versus Hoffenheim played out like it did and why it looks like everyone just wants the season to end … now. You can get the show on Spotify or below.
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