After winning 11 Bundesliga titles in a row, Bayern Munich are only ever a couple of defeats from crisis. Unfortunately for Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane, that’s where the German giants now find themselves.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen extended Xabi Alonso’s side’s lead at the top of the table to five points, and that was followed up by a 1-0 loss at Lazio in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
But it’s not just the results that are causing alarm in Bavaria – it’s the performances, too. Not only did Bayern fail to score in either of their last two matches, but they only recorded a combined total of one shot on target.
Bayern don’t even have the DFB-Pokal to fall back on, having been stunned by third-tier side Saarbrucken in the second round. Tuchel’s side also lost the German Super Cup to RB Leipzig on Kane’s debut – raising the prospect of another season without a trophy for the England captain.
That’s not the kind of season that’s accepted in Munich. Less than a year into his reign, Tuchel is under serious pressure.
Tuchel: I can’t explain it
Tuchel joined Bayern in March last year and quickly wrapped up another Bundesliga title – the first of his career.
But in truth, much of the work had been done by Julian Naglesmann, his predecessor, who was surprisingly sacked with the champions just one point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Tuchel’s side only won the title on goal difference and Dortmund would have been crowned champions if they had not drawn at home to Mainz, who finished ninth, on the season’s final day.
Statistically, Bayern have improved in the Bundesliga this season, winning more points, scoring more and conceding fewer goals per game than in the previous campaign.
But even that improvement hasn’t been enough to keep up with Leverkusen, who are still yet to lose in any competition this season.
Meanwhile, Tuchel has failed to win any of the three Champions League knockout matches he has overseen as Bayern boss, and has lost two of his three matches in the DFB-Pokal.
In total, Tuchel has now lost 10 of his 43 matches as Bayern manager. It took Nagelsmann 84 games to reach that mark.
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The former Chelsea manager’s tactics have been called into question recently, too, with a surprise switch to a 3-4-3 formation at Leverkusen resulting in failure.
Tuchel’s preference for Eric Dier, who only arrived in January, over Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back has also caused consternation.
After the defeat at Lazio, Tuchel insisted he was not concerned about his future. But the head coach also admitted he was “not sure” what had gone wrong, adding “I can’t explain it”.
Being unable to answer those questions is never a good sign and, as Nagelsmann’s exit showed, Bayern coaches are rarely granted much time to find the answers.
Kane cannot carry the burden anymore
Bayern’s problems have come to a head in the past week but perhaps they had been lying under the surface for some time.
Kane’s 28 goals in his first 27 games after arriving from Tottenham papered over the cracks – and were bailing out his fellow forwards.
Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are injured but Leroy Sane has not scored in the Bundesliga since October, Jamal Musiala has no goals in his last six games and Thomas Muller has only found the net twice all season.
Kane could only carry the burden for so long. The tipping point came against Leverkusen and Lazio, when he recorded a total of six touches in the opposition box.
On Sky Sports News, Danny Mills described Kane as “anonymous” in the Stadio Olimpico. But there’s only so much a No 9 can do if the team behind them isn’t functioning.
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Speaking on CBS, Jamie Carragher called Bayern “a team of individuals, not a team right now”. Muller last week suggested his team-mates lacked courage, telling Sky Sports: “We are showing significantly better approaches in training.”
Kane was more measured on Wednesday, urging his team-mates to “keep fighting” when speaking to TNT Sports.
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But the prospect of yet another season ending empty-handed won’t be lost on Kane, whose failure to collect a team trophy despite receiving multiple individual awards is now infamous.
Since making his professional debut 13 years ago, Kane has lost in the Champions League, Carabao Cup and Euro 2020 finals, while he has never finished higher than second in the league.
His move to Bayern – who have won 27 trophies since Kane’s first professional appearance – was meant to finally bring an end to that drought.
But the only trophy coming Kane’s way this season may be another individual award for topping the Bundesliga scoring charts – a prize that looks curiously like the cannon on Arsenal’s badge…
‘Hard to be too critical of Kane’
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright speaking on The Football Show:
“It’s hard to be too critical because we are talking about a player who has scored 28 goals in 29 games this season.
“Tuchel has got the best out of him. It’s more of a dip than something indicative of what’s happened this season.
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“He’s using him slightly differently to how he was used at Spurs. We were used to him dropping deep and linking the play at Spurs.
“He doesn’t do that as much at Bayern. There are fewer touches and fewer passes, but more shots and touches in the opposition box. So even though he’s not as involved in their play, he is more effective in terms of goalscoring.
“But when he’s not scoring, he does look a little more isolated. That’s the problem for him at the moment I think.”
Watch Bochum vs Bayern Munich on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Football; kick-off 4.30pm.
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Source : Sky Sports
