Surpassed by Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (0-3, 1-1), Bayern Munich sees the big goal of its season fly away.
The executioner of Paris Saint-Germain will not go further in the Champions League. Bayern Munich, who had learned a lesson against the Parisian club in the round of 16 of the competition, this time received a good one from Manchester City, in the quarter-finals. Hardly beaten in the first leg (0-3), they did not really seem able to overthrow Pep Guardiola’s team in Munich (1-1).
Beyond the quality of this Mancunian team, this double confrontation revealed the pangs of a decidedly sick Bavarian team. “The situation is alarming. We even hit rock bottom. Our level of play cannot be worse than at the moment.”complained Matthijs de Ligt, the Dutch defender of Bayern, after the poor draw of his home team against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga last weekend (1-1).
For the first time since the 2011-2012 season, Bayern could end the exercise without winning a title. Because for the third consecutive year, the Munich club was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, its main objective each season. In the Bundesliga, Bayern only have a two-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, six days from the end. The club’s shortest lead over its runner-up, at this stage, since 2018-2019.
The Tuchel click has not yet taken place
Having dominated German football unchallenged in recent years, Bayern’s difficulties – both internal and on the pitch – have recently led to the dismissal of Julian Nagelsmann. A strong choice, because the young bench prodigy (35 years old), who arrived in July 2021, seemed to represent the future of the German club over time. Since the start of the season, Nagelsmann had been flawless in C1, with eight wins in eight games, but was still given the door on March 24.
Since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, the former coach of PSG, the reaction has not lived up to expectations. After arriving at Chelsea in 2021, the German coach had won the Champions League just four months later. This time the miracle did not happen. Worse, Bayern were also knocked out of the German Cup two weeks ago, one of the other titles the club were aiming for at the end of the season. And Tuchel has the worst results of a new Bayern manager since Sören Lerby in 1991.
Disappointing recruits
The coach’s speech does not yet seem to have infused his proteges, some of whom continue to disappoint. This is the case of Sadio Mané, who symbolizes this sick Bayern. Second in the Ballon d’Or 2022, the Senegalese has never been able to adapt to his new environment after his transfer from Liverpool last summer. Frustrated, Mané was even suspended by his club after physically attacking his team-mate, Leroy Sané, after the first leg against City.
Among the other recruits, only De Ligt is fully convincing. Bayern did not replace Robert Lewandowski who left last year – the limits of Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting came to light against City on Wednesday – and among his certainties, some players sank. Like Dayot Upamecano. Excellent in recent weeks, the French defender has been at fault both out and back against the Cityzens.
“You have to move on, you have to keep your head up. (…) We are in a complicated situation at the moment, we are losing a lot of points [en championnat] since the World Cup“, explained Benjamin Pavard at the microphone of Canal + after the elimination against Manchester City. And to add: “We will focus on the championship. It’s the least you can do to win at least one title.“Bayern still have seven games to get their heads together.